Another Chance
by Tsunami Storm
Summary: Third in the 'Dragon Prince' series. After a near-fatal accident leaves one of their friends in a deep coma, Yugi and company discover that they must embark on one last quest before their story ends. Pairings: Mizushipping, Platonic family fluff, and buckets of friendship. Rated K-plus for violence and blood.
1. Weather Report

_**Summary:**_ After a near-fatal accident leaves one of their friends in a deep coma, Yugi and company discover that they must embark on one last quest before their story ends. Or is it the last? Almost every character included, plus my OC. Implied Mizushipping. K+ or PG for some moderate violence and graphic descriptions of wounds, but that's about all. Almost every genre is included in this fanfiction story, but it's mostly friendship/family. Read, Enjoy, and Review!

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><p>"–Now we turn to our meteorologist for the weather report. Go ahead."<p>

"Thanks Mr. Jennings. As you can probably see by looking out your window, it's going to be another beautiful sunny spring day here in Domino City, with a high of 82ºF and a low of 73ºF. However, this sun won't stay with us for long. It looks like we have some rain clouds coming in from the northwest, with scattered showers and thunderstorms likely. For the rest of the week–"

_Click._ Seto Kaiba swiftly turned off the television in his office, quickly tiring of the boring meteorologist. He had already heard the forecast for today, and saw no point in waiting for the next part. The weatherman was usually wrong, anyway. Suddenly he heard the distant _thump-thump_ of sock-clad feet running down the hallway. He smiled to himself and thought, _Oh great. It's Mokie-zilla._ Sure enough, Seto Kaiba's younger brother came bursting into his big brother's office. He quickly closed the door behind him, then took a running start and leaped onto the plush sofa nearest the CEO's desk. Seto looked over at this point, and raised a questioning eyebrow at his brother's expression.

Mokuba Kaiba was practically quivering with excitement. He knew that his Nii-sama was almost finished with his latest project, and thus shouldn't have much to do today. Maybe if he was in a good mood, Seto would take him to the local park. He hadn't been to the park with his brother for longer than he could remember. It seemed that whenever Seto had some free time, something would always come up. Whether it be another tournament, some emergency at Kaibacorp., or heaven forbid, a madman trying to destroy the world– again. Thankfully there hadn't been any instances of the last happening lately, ever since Atem– died.

Mokuba sighed. He had grown to respect and even admire the young pharaoh while he lived within the Millennium Puzzle. He had reminded the lad so much of his brother; strong, brilliant, yet caring at the same time. He knew his history well, having been studying it lately in school. He knew that Atem and five of his loyal Millennium Guardians had perished while saving the world from an ancient evil–the embodiment of pure darkness–Zorc. The sixth Guardian–a man called Seth–had been the young pharaoh's cousin, and so became the new pharaoh when Atem died. Mokuba didn't know much about this next pharaoh, only that he had strongly resembled his brother in life, was the keeper of the Millennium Rod, and that he had commanded the spirit of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

Personally, Mokuba thought that all of these Guardians and pharaoh deserved a better life than the one that had been thrust upon them. He thought that many of them had died too young, especially Atem, and deserved a longer, happy life. He thought of what his brother had told him about the origin of the Dark Magicians. Apparently they had been Atem's close friends in Ancient Egypt, one the keeper of the Millennium Ring–Mahaad–and his loyal, headstrong apprentice, Mana. They had actually fused their spirits with that of their most trusted Shadow Creatures–the Illusion Magician and the Dark Magician Girl respectively–in order to protect the pharaoh from Bakura's rampage. By doing so, they had intentionally barred their spirits from entering paradise, and instead were bound to stone tablets and later cards in the ancient Shadow Games.

But this existence did not last forever, apparently. For when Atem entered the Spirit World after his ceremonial duel with Yugi, Mokuba thought he saw two people that looked suspiciously like Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl. He had concluded that since Atem had defeated Zorc for a second time and had abolished the Shadow Games, that these two spirits had been finally freed from their merge and were able to pass on to their well-deserved reward.

When Seto cleared his throat expectantly, Mokuba was brought back to the present. Why did he come to this office again? Oh yeah, to ask Seto if they could go to the park. If Nii-sama agreed, this was going to be so fun! Of course, Mokuba knew that his brother was always busy, and lulls like this in the endless projects he was working on were few and far between, so Mokuba would often need to entertain himself. He would occasionally visit what his brother referred to as 'the Geek Squad/Patrol', but he didn't want to bother them too much. After all, they had their own lives to deal with. So Mokuba would often come and sit in his brother's office and occupy himself. He loved being near his big brother, just being in the same room with him made him feel completely safe.

Growing impatient, Seto turned to his little brother and asked, "Well? Are you just going to stare at me all day, or is there something you wanted to ask me, Mokuba?"

Mokuba started a little at this question, once again coming out of a reverie. He grinned and quickly nodded. "Nii-sama, since I know you don't have much to do today, I thought that maybe we could go to– the park– you know, for a little while. I haven't been there with you in ages! Please Seto?" he asked, blinking his best puppy-dog eyes at him.

Seto sighed and smiled. He never could resist those enormous gray-blue eyes whenever they appeared. Slowly, he clicked the 'Save' command on his laptop, carefully closed the lid and swiveled his chair to completely face his brother. The smirk was still on his face when he answered, "Of course, Mokuba. I'm all finished now. We can go to the park. In fact I was planning on it. It's supposed to be nice today–for the most part–so I think a day in the park would do me some good. I've been way too stressed lately, and I think a day with you is the best way to relieve that stress. Just let me get my jacket, then we can go, okay?"

The look of utter ecstasy on his brother's face was worth every second that Seto looked at it. He would do anything for his little brother, but Kaibacorp. was always demanding attention as well. He quickly stood up from his custom swivel chair and walked briskly to the closet to grab his white-gray duelist jacket. As he pulled it on, he could not help but remember all the adventures that this coat had survived. First it was the Battle City fiasco with Marik, then it was that Orichalcos ordeal with Dartz, and finally that weird journey into ancient Egypt courtesy of the Millennium Items and that insane Bakura character. Oh and who could forget that whole zany adventure with Anubis and the Pyramid of Light? [Yes, I consider that movie canon.] Yes, this coat had survived a lot in the past five years, and it was still in surprisingly good condition.

The tapping of an impatient foot behind him jolted him out of his musings, and he turned and smirked at his little brother, saying, "All right Mokuba, I'm ready. Let's go."

Mokuba laughed in anticipation, jogged to the office door and flung it open. Luckily Seto was able to catch it before the knob put a hole in the wall. He shook his head in mock exasperation as he watched the tiny terror tornado skip down the hall to the elevator. As he and Mokuba waited for the elevator to reach the lobby, Seto looked at his brother and wondered, _Did _I_ ever have that much energy when I was his age? That kid eats too much sugar._

_Ding!_ Finally the elevator doors slid open, and the Kaiba brothers made their way to the front entrance where their limousine was waiting, one walking briskly and the other practically jumping. The secretary at the front desk wished them a pleasant day as they left, and Mokuba grinned and called back, "Thanks, you too!" while Seto merely raised a hand in farewell. He walked to the limo and sat on the leather seat, sliding over so that his brother could climb in too. After Mokuba had closed the door, Seto told their driver to take them to the Domino park. The driver nodded silently and allowed himself a small smile. It was about time that the boss had some time to spend with his little brother.

When they reached the park, Mokuba ran to the jungle gym and proceeded to climb it like a professional acrobat. Seto watched in amused silence as Mokie the monkey enjoyed himself. The boy soon grew bored with that and ran to the carousel, asking Seto to spin him around. Seto complied, and Mokuba stayed on until he felt almost sick from dizziness. After the contraption had ceased its revolutions, the young boy eventually made his way to the swing set, spinning and staggering all the way. Seto followed him to make sure he didn't hurt himself, and Mokuba promptly sat down on the nearest swing. Timidly, he asked if his brother could give him a few pushes to start. Seto smirked and nodded, and the two spent at least two hours playing on the simple piece of equipment.

While Mokuba shrieked and giggled with delight at how high he was swinging, Seto was remembering a time long ago when _he_ was the one on the swing and his parents would push him back and forth. His mother would stand behind him and gently push his back, and his father would stand in front of him and push his feet in the opposite direction. Little Seto had requested this arrangement for a reason. He did not want to accidentally kick Mom, as she was pregnant with his soon-to-be little brother Mokuba. He remembered being so proud that he was going to be a big brother, and would spend all his free time with his Mom, waiting to feel if the baby would kick her stomach again.

However, this peace could not last, for with great joy often comes great sadness. Such was the case with the young family. Seto did indeed gain a baby brother, but in the process lost his beloved mother. A few years later their father was killed in a tragic accident, and he and Mokie were sent to that awful orphanage while their relatives stole and squandered their inheritance. A few years after that they were adopted by the devil incarnate, Gozaburo Kaiba. He made sure that the interaction time between the brothers was minimal at best, and when Seto would try to spend time with his only family, he was punished severely.

Seto shuddered at the horrible memories of the cruel punishments, and vaguely wondered if he would ever be free of the scars of the past, both emotional and physical. As the sun began its descent to the western horizon, he noticed a number of large storm clouds gathering there. It looked like some of the western cities were already being greeted by the rain and lightning. In the back of his mind, Seto thought, _Huh. Looks like the weatherman was right for a change._ He waited for Mokuba to stop swinging as high as he possibly could, then gently told his brother that it was time to head home. With a low groan of disappointment, the younger Kaiba agreed and began to follow his brother to their mansion. As they left, a light drizzle began to blanket the area, and Seto's unnaturally good mood faded with the disappearance of the sun.

However before they had even left the park, Seto froze as he spotted a familiar, tall figure in the distance. He was dressed in his usual black business suit, trademark sunglasses glinting over his eyes, and his hair was gelled into the regular spike protruding from his skull. He was also wearing that annoying smirk that was ever-present on his face, and in his hand was a silver and black handgun, which was pointed right at Seto's heart. As he approached the brothers, Seto whispered softly, "Stay behind me Mokuba. I don't want you to get hurt."

Mokuba nodded, too frightened to argue. Seto bravely approached the man with the gun and commented calmly, "Saruwatari, why am I not surprised? Why is it that whenever we meet, there is always a gun pointed at me?"

Kemo Saruwatari just smirked wider and replied, "I don't know, Kaiba. Maybe Fate and I have a common interest. We both want you _dead_."

Inwardly, Seto stiffened in shock. He couldn't die! Who would protect Mokuba? Outwardly he remained calm and asked, "Oh? And why would you come to that conclusion?"

Kemo's smirk disappeared, to be replaced with a hard glare. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe it's because you RUINED MY LIFE!" he shouted. "First you ruined my first job when you murdered your stepfather, –don't look at me like that, you _know_ that it was _your_ fault that he committed suicide– then you did something to Mr. Pegasus and got me fired from _that_ job as well! And let's not forget what you did to the Big Five! Because of _you_ my whole life was shattered, and now I'm gonna shatter yours!"

Mokuba could hardly believe what was happening. It seemed a lifetime ago that he had asked to spend the day at the park with his big brother, and now his Nii-sama's life was at stake. He couldn't take it anymore! _Why are people always trying to hurt Seto? It isn't fair! He's only trying to protect me!_ Mokuba thought angrily. _And why is he blaming Nii-sama for what happened to Pegasus? That wasn't him, that was Bakura! _He_ stole the Millennium Eye, not Seto!_

Seto merely scoffed and said, "It seems that whenever there is a side that directly opposes mine, _you_ take it, Saruwatari!"

"It seems so. Goodbye Kaiba, I'll see you in Hell!"

Then he fired. Seto barely had time to push Mokuba out of the way before the bullet struck him in the chest, three centimeters below his heart. His eyes widened in shock and pain as he gasped and fell to his knees, blood quickly spreading down his shirt and staining his trenchcoat red. Slowly he gasped for breath, his pierced lung hindering his efforts. He placed his right hand over the wound in an effort to stem the flow of blood from his chest, but it was not enough as a warm wet liquid began to stream over his fingers. With a weak cough that spattered more blood onto the already-soaked grass, he fell backwards onto the lawn, still trying to take a breath as the blood forged a new path to the ground around the side of his shirt.

Mokuba sat where Seto had pushed him in shock. He could only watch in horror as his beloved brother lay bleeding on the ground. Kemo had run off minutes ago, having heard the wail of police sirens not far from his position. Slowly he recovered and crawled over to where his brother lay and tried to stop the bleeding. By this time the drizzle had turned into an outright downpour, and lightning lanced across the sky and connected with the ground every couple minutes. In a matter of seconds, both brothers were completely soaked. Seto turned to his brother and whispered weakly, his blue eyes glazing over, "M-Mokuba– g-get– h-help–"

Mokuba got up from his position at once and sprinted to where he heard the sirens were coming from. When he reached the area, he thanked God that the police had brought an ambulance with them. He ran over to the nearest police officer and cried, "Please, you have to help me! My brother's been hurt bad! He's in the park, please hurry!"

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><p><span>End of chapter 1<span>

Next chapter teaser: Prophecy

I hope you all enjoyed this first chapter! I couldn't think of a good name for the meteorologist, so if you have any ideas, send them to me in a review! Oh, and free cookies to the first person to guess the name of the news anchor!

Yeah, I hurt Seto. I had to do it to make this story interesting. Now you have one _more_ reason to hate Kemo. I know this author/authoress does!

If you have any suggestions–or spot a mistake that I missed–drop me a review. I need all the help I can get! (this applies to all chapters!)

Constructive Criticism/Suggestions will be carefully considered,

Compliments will be eaten like cookies, *gets crazed look in eye* MMM, COOKIES–

And flames will be put in the fireplace where they belong.

Tsunami Storm


	2. Prophecy

Whoops! I realized that I forgot to put in the disclaimer in the first chapter! I'm sorry about that! Read, Enjoy, and Review!

_**Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!, any of its characters or its plots. The only things I own are the plot of this particular story and my OC, who will appear later. Yu-Gi-Oh! belongs to my favorite manga writer, Kazuki Takahashi.

_**Author's Note:**_ In this chapter we have a character acting as an oracle. From now on, _**"**_**Bolded** _italic_ _**quotes"**_ will be a character speaking in ancient Egyptian, a language that has not been spoken aloud for at least five-thousand years. (I'm just making that up, I don't know how long it has been since that language was heard.) If I put something in brackets, like this [English], that is the author/authoress talking, and is not [usually] part of the story and _can_ be ignored. Enjoy!

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><p><em>Beep. Beep. Beep. …<em>

The constant and steady beeping of the heart monitor was a small comfort to the young boy. Although the life-saving surgery had been a success, Mokuba Kaiba's older brother had yet to regain consciousness. After his attempted murder in the park, Seto Kaiba had lost consciousness in the ambulance during the journey to the hospital. Mokuba had been holding his brother's left hand during the trip, and never relinquished his grip until Seto was taken to the Operating Room [Seto's right hand was over his wound]. As soon as he'd heard that it was okay to visit his brother, Mokuba ran to his brother's room and held his hand again, whispering soothing words and assurances that his brother was going to be all right.

The next day, the Kaiba brothers received some unexpected visitors. Yugi Mutou and his friends had heard about the accident and wanted to do anything they could to help. Yugi and his grandfather Solomon Mutou immediately offered for the young teenager to stay at their house/game shop while his brother recovered. Mokuba gratefully accepted the offer, having answered one of the burning questions in his mind, _What will happen to me now? Seto is my only family. Where will I go?_

Everyone in the room seemed genuinely concerned about the young CEO. Even Joey Wheeler seemed to care about who he'd often refer to as 'dat snobby Rich-Boy'. Téa Gardner had found a clean cloth and was now gently dabbing Kaiba's forehead with it. Tristan Taylor and Serenity Wheeler had gone down to the hospital gift shop to purchase a 'Get Well Soon' bouquet to brighten up the room. Yugi–desperate for something helpful to do–turned on the room's television set and switched it to the news, curious as to whether the police had caught Kaiba's almost-murderer.

"–In other local news, the friends and family of Seto Kaiba–CEO of Kaibacorp.–are anxiously awaiting the young man's recovery. Seto Kaiba was rushed to the hospital yesterday after suffering a nearly fatal gunshot wound to the chest. Sources tell us that the emergency surgery was a complete success, but for reasons unknown, the champion duelist has slipped into a deep coma. Doctors are unsure if he will come out of it, but there are millions of prayers out there that he will.

"On that note, the loved ones of Mr. Kaiba will be pleased to know that Kemo Saruwatari has been apprehended and is being held for attempted murder of the promising young man–"

"YES!" Joey Wheeler shouted, to surprised and shocked looks from his companions. "Ha! I guess crime doesn't pay, huh Kemo? If ya ask me, he definitely got wat he deserved, right Yug'?"

Yugi fervently nodded, as did the rest of the crowd. They were glad that Kaiba's attacker would finally be brought to justice. Mokuba also felt slightly better at this news, but he knew in his heart that nothing short of a miracle would cause his Nii-sama to regain consciousness.

As if on cue, Kaiba's blue eyes suddenly shot open and his breath came in short, rasping gasps. The gang breathed a collective gasp of shock and surprise, immediately surrounding the bed where he lay. Mokuba was the first to notice that his brother's eyes–always a bright sapphire blue–were strangely glazed over and had turned a kind of milky-blue instead of the azure glow of which he was so fond. In time the others noticed this too, and Tristan blurted, "Okay, _that's_ not normal. What the heck happened to his eyes? Don't tell me he's _blind_ now!"

Yugi looked at his friend incredulously and answered, "Don't be silly, Tristan. How in the world could _that_ have happened? I think it's something to do with the coma that he's in, but I've never heard of something like this happening before."

Suddenly both of Kaiba's hands started moving seemingly of their own accord, and frantically started making inexplicable gestures in the air. After a few minutes Serenity realized what was going on, and she quickly found a writing utensil and a notepad for Kaiba to write on. She suddenly paused and turned to Mokuba, asking, "Um Mokuba? Is your brother right-handed or left-handed? He seems to be drawing the same characters with both hands."

Mokuba gave a small, proud smile and replied, "Both. He's ambidextrous, so either one would be fine. He generally prefers to write with his right hand, though."

Serenity nodded, then gently placed the pen in Kaiba's right hand. Somehow Seto must have been aware of what was happening on some level, because his hand stopped moving as Serenity gave him the pen. Then she held the notebook to the tip of the tool and he began to draw symbols on the paper. After a few moments, Solomon recognized some of the drawings and exclaimed, "Ah! He's writing in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics! The last time I saw characters like these was many years ago in the tomb of the Nameless Pharaoh– Oh! I mean Atem!"

Six pairs of eyes widened at the mention of their friend, Atem. It had been about a year since he'd left this world for the one beyond and–much as they would try to deny it–everybody missed him terribly. They–like Mokuba–all believed that Atem and his companions had deserved a better, longer life, but as far as they knew there was nothing they could do about it now.

By this time Seto had stopped writing, and was speaking in a foreign language, one that had been dead for millennia.

Solomon took a second look at the hieroglyphs that Seto had drawn on the notepad, and realized that Kaiba was speaking the words of the hieroglyphs on the page. He quickly wrote down the pronunciations of these words, as that would aid greatly the work of linguists everywhere who were trying to uncover the mysteries of the Egyptian language. Yugi looked over to where his grandfather was sitting and queried, "Grandpa? Do you know what Kaiba is saying?"

"Yeah Gramps, enlighten us will ya? It's all Greek ta me!" Joey interjected.

"Heh heh. Actually Joseph, you're not far off. Kaiba is speaking a language that has not been spoken or heard aloud for centuries. It's ancient Egyptian. More specifically it is the language used by the nobility, rather than the vernacular of the common people. In modern Japanese [English], the text is translated as follows:

_'When the last star to the sky leaps,_

_The Prince shall wake from his final sleep._

_The seven articles shall choose a new host,_

_Else the Prince would give up the ghost.'_"

Joey only heard one word of that rhyme. "G-ghost? Aw, man! Not again!"

The others laughed at his reaction, and Mokuba asked, "But what does that mean, Dr. Mutou? Who's the 'prince'? And what are the 'seven articles'?"

"That's a good question Mokuba. What _does_ that mean, Jii-chan?" Yugi echoed.

Grandpa Mutou stroked his short beard and thought. After a while he said, "Well, I can't think of anything off the top of my head, but it seems as if we should solve this riddle piece-by-piece like a puzzle. After all, that _is_ how I got through that tomb all those years ago."_ With a little help from the pharaoh himself,_ he added mentally as he smiled fondly at the memory.

The group sat and pondered for a while. Téa volunteered to decipher the first line, Yugi the second, Mokuba the third, and Solomon the last. Meanwhile the rest of the group watched Seto. He had stopped writing and talking, and was now just sitting up in bed with his cloudy eyes open wide. Tristan and Serenity carefully laid him back down on the bed, rested his head on the large pillow, and closed his eyes. This way he appeared to be only sleeping, and the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest further enhanced this illusion.

After a few minutes of thought, Téa exclaimed, "Of course! I got it! The ancient Egyptians thought of their royalty as gods, right? And stars are often named for deities! What if the 'last star' refers to one of the seven members of our pharaoh's court?"

Joey nodded excitedly. "Yeah! You may be onta somethin dere, Téa! But eh, wat about da rest?"

"I'm getting to that! Some ancient Egyptian texts compare the sky with life. So the first line must mean, 'when the last Guardian returns to life'!" Téa concluded.

Unfortunately this answer raised a whole new set of questions. Like who was supposed to be the 'last star'? And how in the world were they supposed to bring these Guardians back from the _dead_? It was impossible! As the members of the gang voiced their opinions, Solomon interrupted, "Calm down everyone! Let's figure out the details another day. Right now we should focus on translating the rest of that prophecy!"

Yugi nodded and resumed his thought process. Minutes later, he started chuckling.

"What is it Yugi?" Tristan queried, afraid that his friend had cracked under the pressure.

"Yeah, Yug'. I see nuttin' funny about dis situation!" Joey added.

Yugi stopped laughing and looked up cheerfully. He answered, "Sorry guys, I was just laughing with relief! I figured out who the 'prince' is! You know how everyone used to call me– er– Atem 'The King of Games'? Well, if _Yami_ was the _king_, who was the second-best duelist in the world? In other words, the 'Prince of Games'?"

Mokuba gasped in delight. "I know! It's Seto! _Seto_ is the Prince of Games!"

Yugi smiled wider and nodded. He then continued, "And back then, the ancients probably didn't know about comas, so they refer to it as one's 'final sleep'! So the prophecy is telling us that when we resurrect the last Guardian, Kaiba will come out of his coma and everything will be all right again!"

Everyone cheered up considerably at this revelation, and Solomon added, "Well if that's the interpretation of the second line, then mine means that unless Mokuba's line would come true, the Prince, or Kaiba, would 'give up the ghost'. In other words, die."

The group's eyes widened as one for the second time that day, realizing that the only reason Kaiba survived his 'accident' was to fulfill the prophecy. If that prophecy hadn't existed, then little Mokuba would have lost the only family he had left. This shocking realization further fueled Mokuba's determination to interpret his line of the prophecy. After a few mere seconds of thought, a solution came to him. He stated, "Hey, since we're talking about the Guardians and the pharaoh, do you think that maybe the 'seven articles' refer to the seven Millennium Items? After all, 'article' is a synonym for 'item'!"

The others nodded, agreeing that this could be a possibility. Now the prophecy said in modern tongue:

_'When the last Guardian returns to life,_

_The Prince of Games will no more lie._

_The Millennium Items will choose new bearers,_

_Else the Prince would die.'_

With the ancient prophecy completed, the group celebrated quietly in Kaiba's room. They had solved a difficult puzzle by working together and portioning it out. However there was one member who was not celebrating with the rest. Serenity sat quietly in the corner, deep in thought and worry. Eventually Joey noticed that his sister was not participating, and he walked over to her and asked, "What's wrong, Sis? We solved da riddle! You'd think dat would be cause for a party."

Serenity looked her brother in the eyes–dark-mahogany to chocolate-brown–and replied, "Oh, of course I'm happy we deciphered the prophecy, Onii-chan. But there's one problem that I realized. We somehow need to use the Millennium Items for this task, right? Well, didn't all the Items fall into a bottomless pit when the Millennium Stone shattered and Atem– left us?"

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><p><span>End of chapter 2<span>

Next chapter teaser: Discovery

Well, here's the second chapter. Yay! Serenity posed an interesting conundrum there. How will our heroes solve _this_ predicament?

I have always thought of Seto Kaiba as the 'Prince' of Games, since he's the second-best after Yugi. You are free to come to your own conclusions, though. I know that, technically, second-best would be the 'Queen of Games', but I didn't use that for obvious reasons. *snrk* (Although he _can_ be a 'drama queen' sometimes. XD)

Again, if anyone has a suggestion or spots a mistake I missed, (no matter how small) send me a message and I'll correct it as soon as possible! I really need all the help I can get!

Tsunami Storm


	3. Discovery

_**Author's Note:**_ This chapter contains a letter addressed to the gang. From now on letters will be written in _italics_.

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><p>One month later–<p>

It was a hot mid-spring day in a small town in Egypt as the residents went about their daily business. People bought and sold goods in the village bazaar and children ran and played in the streets, all blissfully ignorant of the impending discovery that would eventually shock the world and change the lives of twenty-four unique individuals forever. Yet all of these changes were destined to be for the better.

Hundreds of miles away on a small island in the west, a major archaeological dig was taking place. The archaeologists were led by a young family of three seemingly ordinary siblings, yet these three held much influence when it came to the historical artifacts and heirlooms of an age gone by. The first young man was very tall, standing at about 6'4", with long hair arranged in a ponytail at the back of the skull, and the rest of the scalp shaven clean. An intricate and detailed tattoo marked the left side of his face, and his golden eyes were surrounded by chocolate-brown skin. He wore a simple T-shirt and jeans, with his only accessories being two small gold earrings and a flowing cape around his shoulders. His name was Odion Ishtar, and he was eldest brother to the other two siblings who accompanied him.

The other male figure also possessed a fairly-commanding stature. He stood at around 6'0", with unusual white-blond hair and light violet eyes. His skin was also quite dark, but not as dark as his brother. This young man wore a light blue tank-top with a navy-blue vest over it, and beige slacks that almost perfectly matched with his hair. The young man's name: Malik Ishtar.

Finally, the young woman with the brothers walked up. Her long straight hair was as black as onyx, and her eyes were a beautiful turquoise. She was thin and stood at about 5'8", her elegant posture seeming to increase her stature. Unlike her brothers–who tended to prefer modern attire–Ishizu Ishtar had chosen to wear a simple yet elegant beige dress that hinted at ancient designs. The neckline of the dress was embroidered with black lace, as was the hem at the bottom and the sleeves. She wore a circlet of gold on her brow from which dangled a single stone of emerald.

When the family arrived, Malik stole a glance at his older sister. She seemed to be very excited about this latest undertaking, and when his sister was interested in something, she was not easily distracted. Nevertheless, he interrupted her train of thought, saying, "Nee-san? Could you please remind me why we are digging here? I know you already told me this a month ago, but I seem to have forgotten."

Ishizu rewarded him with a small, reproving smirk before answering. "Malik, do you _ever_ pay attention in my meetings? Ah well. I was granted a vision a month ago by the great Horakhty. The divine one said that we must search in the Valley of the Kings and the 'island of the gods' for seven treasures and eleven nobles from long ago. Hence this expedition. We have need to recover the seven Millennium Items from that pit, or a terrible fate will befall one of our comrades."

Malik nodded, now recalling the strange event. His sister had woken up one night with a loud gasp, startling her two brothers in the adjoining room. She had not had a vision like that since she had given the Millennium Necklace to Yugi and the pharaoh during Kaiba's Battle City tournament years ago. However, having once possessed the sacred item, she knew instantly what the vision meant. She immediately gathered her belongings and asked her brothers to do the same. The next morning, the group left the town that they were staying in and flew to Cairo, Egypt to hire a digging crew. Of the more than fifty workers that showed up, she selected one individual to be a 'specialist'. That is, they would be the one to carry out special tasks. The person selected was a young woman–nineteen years old–who volunteered to be lowered into the chasm to retrieve the Millennium Items.

Now the chasm below the sanctuary was not a bottomless pit–as the last visitors had thought it was [like me, for instance]–but rather just a very deep, dark cavern with a small but deep freshwater spring at the bottom. It was into this spring that the Millennium Items had fallen when the Stone had shattered, and there they rested, almost eagerly awaiting their rediscovery.

Moments later the recovery project was well underway, the thrill of new discovery encouraging the workers to work quickly and without complaint. The young volunteer was excited as well, having been an unseen guest at the ceremonial battle a year ago, and knew exactly where the Millennium Items had fallen. The young woman was about average in height, around 5'8" [actually 5'7¾''] with long brown hair, (naturally) full red lips, and emerald eyes. She had a tanned, clear complexion and appeared to be a former acrobat. However she was remarkably thin for her height and weighed just 120 lbs despite her healthy diet and exercise regimen. No one knew much else about this mysterious young woman.

Within hours rather than the usual days, the sanctuary had been fully and successfully excavated. The team and the Ishtars descended the long staircase to the large room, and the archaeologists began photographing every single hieroglyph on the walls, including the enormous Eye of Wdjat on the back wall. The young woman inspected the well-like hole in the sanctuary floor, and Malik quietly remarked, "Well, I'm glad I'm not you, Miss. That hole seems pretty deep."

The girl simply smiled playfully and didn't reply, too excited about the impending adventure for words. When the team had finished documenting the hieroglyphs on the walls and columns, they gathered loosely around the pit and produced a rope and harness for the volunteer to climb into. Itonami Hana–for that was her name–equipped the harness with very little difficulty and clipped the rope to the ring on her belt. She wore a pair of brown leather hiking boots, white socks, beige shorts and a matching top that was most often seen on professional archaeologists. She removed her hat and equipped a waterproof miner's hardhat, switched the light on, then signaled to her companions that she was ready for the descent.

Two workers carefully lowered Hana into the pit, stopping at the signal of one pull on the rope. Hana wanted to take a look around. After a few seconds another pull came, and the two men resumed lowering her into the hole. After nearly half an hour of lowering, Hana still hadn't reached the bottom, but the rope had reached its end. Carefully they tied a second rope to the first and resumed the lowering. A while later two tugs came, the signal that Hana had reached the bottom. She removed her two-way portable radio from her belt and announced into the speaker, "There's a deep underground spring in here! I think I can see the Millennium Scales, and I'm pretty sure that's the Rod over there. I need to dive down to retrieve them. Wait for my signal of three pulls. That'll tell you I have 'em all. Two pulls means I need you to pull me up a little bit, and one means I need to be lowered. Okay?"

Her companions agreed, and Malik added, "Be careful, Hana. I have a bad feeling about this."

His answer came in the form of a lighthearted laugh, and one pull on the rope followed it. Ten minutes later, they received another message on the radio. "I've got almost all of them, but I can't find the Eye. Maybe I missed it. Hang on, I'll keep looking–"

Accompanying this statement was one pull on the rope. The team lowered the rope further, and strangely the sound of a rope snapping could be heard. They heard a faint scream and then a splash. Malik gasped, fearing that the worst had happened, and suddenly seized the radio and called, "Hana? Hana! Are you all right?"

"–Yeah, I'm fine. I just got one more dunk into the water than I expected when the rope broke. I'm okay, I just need to re-tie this– Got it! Okay. I'll dive down again for the Eye."

The team waited with bated breath as Hana searched for the smallest Item, the Millennium Eye. Five minutes passed, then ten. Finally the anxious group heard the next and final planned message on the radio. "Got it! It was wedged into the source of the spring! Took forever to get it out! Okay, that's all of them, pull me up!" [I'm not exactly sure how clear this is, but Hana was actually holding her breath all that time underwater. Holey cheese, who _is_ this girl exactly?]

Following this comment came three pulls on the rope, and the relieved team members worked to bring Hana back to the sanctuary room. After a while, a soaking wet Ms. Itonami clambered out of the 'well' and proudly presented the seven Millennium Items. A cheer went up from the group at this, and Hana grinned with pride. The happiness of her companions was well worth being dripping wet in the cold sanctuary.

Their task completed, the Ishtars and the rest of the crew left the sanctuary. Malik carried the Millennium Eye, Ring and Rod, Odion the Puzzle, Scales and Key, and Ishizu her former item, the Millennium Necklace. Hana stayed behind for a few minutes, assuring her companions that this would not take long. She slowly walked up to the enormous Eye of Wdjat, placed her hand on the faint seam in the wall where the doors to the Spirit World had closed, and said softly, _**"Oh, my friends. I miss you guys so much, Atem. You, master Mahaad, Mana, Seth, Kisara... everyone. Someday we will see each other again, I promise."**_

After this, she left the sanctuary and climbed out into the blinding afternoon sun.

* * *

><p>Domino City, one week later–<p>

Yugi and Mokuba were playing a friendly game of Duel Monsters in the living room of the house. Mokuba was enjoying himself. The last time he had dueled Yugi was shortly after he had escaped from Pegasus' castle and was desperately trying to help his brother protect Kaibacorp. Of course, he had been dueling the pharaoh at the time, but no one knew that Atem and Yugi were two separate souls back then, not even Yugi or Yami. Mokuba possessed an Animal deck, though it contained a large amount of Dragon-type monsters. Yugi was winning, but only by a slight margin. Around them, their friends didn't know which duelist to cheer for. Finally they decided that they would split up. Téa, Ryou Bakura and Serenity cheered for Yugi, while Tristan, Solomon and _Joey_ cheered for the _underdog_.

"Let's see how good you are, Mokuba! 2000 Life Points each." Yugi teased while he drew his cards.

"Oh don't worry, Yugi. My brother taught me well!" the teenager retaliated as he opened the game with two face-down cards and his 'Little Chimera' [600/550] in Attack mode. Yugi sighed inwardly– Mokuba's bluff was way too obvious. No one would summon a monster with 600 ATK in Attack mode, especially in a game that began at 2000 Life Points.

"Is that the best you can do?" Yugi queried incredulously. Then he shrugged. "It's my turn to play then! I summon 'Queen's Knight' [1500/1600] in Attack Mode! Attack his Little Chimera!"

"Ha! You didn't actually believe that it was going to be that easy, did ya?" Mokuba laughed in disbelief, holding his hand over his Magic/Trap card zone.

"You know Mokuba, for a moment there, yeah I kinda did." Yugi replied with a grin.

Mokuba smiled over his successful feint, and his 'cheerleaders' Tristan, Joey and Solomon applauded as he revealed his face-down card, 'Graceful Dice'.

"Joey gave that to you, didn't he?" Yugi smiled at his opponent before raising an eyebrow at his friend, who grinned sheepishly. "Don' sweat it, pal. I still got another one in my deck!"

"Yeah he did, and it works just fine for my deck as well. Dice roll!" Mokuba cried.

Several pairs of eyes followed the spinning dice as it made its way across the playing table until it finally came to a stop with the number 2 on top, doubling his Chimera's strength to 1200 Attack points, but still 300 points less than Yugi's monster. Tristan and Solomon sighed in disappointment. Joey however had a knowing smile on his face that didn't fade away even as a grinning Yugi exclaimed, "HA! Not good enough, I'm afraid. That'll teach you to rely on chance where skill is required!"

"Oh yeah? Thankfully I have plenty of both!" Mokuba explained as he revealed his second face-down card. "I play the field card 'Molten Destruction!'" he cried. "This increases the Attack strength of all Fire attribute monsters by 500, but drops their defense by 400." he explained for his audience that didn't know the effect of the Magic card.

This development caused Yugi to promptly stop smirking. Losing his Queen's Knight and 200 of his Life Points to Mokuba's combination proved the younger Kaiba to be far more then a mere pushover. After Yugi had ended his turn with a face-down card of his own, Mokuba used his turn to further widen his lead by attacking Yugi's unprotected Life Points directly with his Chimera, bringing his opponent down to 700.

"Very well done! You _are_ pretty good!" Yugi laughed, thoroughly enjoying the moment. Becoming serious again, he added, "But I've still got some more tricks to show you! Watch out! First I'm going to play 'Monster Reborn', bringing back my Queen's Knight! Now I summon 'King's Knight' [1600/1400] from my hand, allowing me to immediately play the third of my knights from my deck: 'Jack's Knight' [1900/1000]!"

As if the situation wasn't bad enough already (Yugi had three monsters, each of which possessed more attack power than Mokuba's Chimera), the King of Games continued, "But that's not all! I've still got my face-down card! Activate magic card 'Kabalah Memeplex'!" [Don't bother trying to look this card up. It doesn't exist. My co-writer made it up for this duel.]

Mokuba as well as his cheerleaders were flummoxed by a card they had never seen before. "Yo Gramps," Joey turned to Yugi's grandfather, "Wat does dat card over dere do?"

Solomon–not entirely successful at hiding how proud he was at his grandson's skill–smiled knowingly at Joey as he explained, "This card allows its controller to sacrifice one monster from their side of the field in order to special-summon any creature they wish from their hand. However, it comes at a high price: As long as the monster summoned via this effect remains face-up in play, its controller will be unable to draw any card throughout this as well as any following turns."

"That's true Joey," Yugi confirmed. "Only there will be no following turn, for the monster I choose to summon is none other than my almighty 'Dark Magician' [2500/2100]!"

Yugi's signature card seemed to give him the edge he needed in order to defeat Mokuba. Still, he remained cautious. First he ordered his Jack's Knight to destroy Mokuba's Chimera, bringing Mokuba down to 1800 Life Points, then went on to use his King's Knight to attack Mokuba's face-down card. It turned out to be a 'Morphing Jar', which upon destruction forced both players to discard their hands and draw five new cards. Or at least it normally did. This time only Mokuba was allowed to draw a new hand, for Yugi was subjected to the effect of his Kabalah Memeplex. Not that it mattered. With the last of Mokuba's monsters gone, Yugi was about to deliver the coup de grâce with his favorite monster!

"It's your turn, Dark Magician– attack his Life Points directly!"

"Ha! Gotcha! Activate 'Scrap-Iron Scarecrow'!" Mokuba countered Yugi's attack, reducing his damage to 0 and returning the card to face-down position in his Magic/Trap zone.

"It's not over yet, Yugi! You've got no cards in your hand thanks to my Morphing Jar, and you won't be able to draw any either! Now it's my turn. And I'll beat you now! I summon 'Bazoo the Soul Eater' [1600/900] in Attack mode!"

"Darn it! How could I be so careless?" Yugi groaned, for he knew all too well what Mokuba's baboon-like creature was capable of. It was the star of Mokuba's animal-themed deck, and while its 1600 points of basic ATK didn't look too impressive, everyone in the room knew about its special ability: It possessed the ability to feed on 3 monsters from its owner's Graveyard, gaining 300 ATK for each one. Since Morphing Jar had allowed Mokuba to send his entire hand to the Graveyard, he now possessed more than enough souls to feed Bazoo.

Yugi could do nothing but watch as the monster's ATK grew to 2500 points before Mokuba ordered it to attack Yugi's weakest Knight, bringing his opponent's remaining 700 LP down to 0.

When the duel concluded, Joey teased that the 'King of Games' was losing his touch. Yugi shrugged good-naturedly at this and congratulated his opponent on his unexpected victory. Mokuba laughed and thanked Yugi for playing with him, then asked excitedly if they could play again, this time with Joey as his opponent. Joey eagerly agreed and the two boys cut and shuffled the other's decks. Just as they were about to start, the doorbell rang. Solomon got up and answered it and a few minutes later came back with a large brown package. He sat down on the sofa with a _thump_ and handed the box to his grandson, saying, "This package is addressed to the five of you, but it has our address on it. I don't know what it means, but it is quite heavy and is from Egypt. Maybe something from the Ishtars?"

Yugi shrugged, not knowing what it meant either. He carefully slit the tape on the box with a kitchen knife, then opened the box. Inside was a slightly smaller box and a letter on top of it. The front of the letter said, READ THIS FIRST! Intrigued, Yugi opened the letter and began to read it aloud to his friends and grandfather.

_Greetings, our friends in Domino,_

_We hope this letter finds you well. We are doing well here in Egypt also. Malik and Odion have been assisting me in my work with the museum, and so far have proven to be great assets on the expeditions, if not in the meetings._

_About a month ago I was granted a vision by the great Horakhty. I was told that we were to recover the seven Millennium Items and deliver them to their chosen bearers. At the time I knew not what it meant, but I was granted another vision last night, and the seven of you appeared, bearing the Items! The seven of you that I saw were Yugi, Joseph, Téa, Tristan, Ryou, Serenity and Seto Kaiba. I regret that I do not know _who_ will receive _which_ Items, but I can assure you that each of these seven _will_ receive one._

_I was also told in the vision that we must search for and uncover the tombs of eleven nobles. Somehow I had a feeling that not all of these 'nobles' belonged to the nobility of ancient Egypt. We are currently working on solving this mystery, and will notify you if we meet with success or failure. The great Horakhty mentioned something about 'restoring the stars to the sky', but I do not know what that means yet. We wish you all the best!_

_Sincerely, Ishizu Ishtar_

_P.S. To the bearer of the Millennium Eye, I've discovered that one doesn't need to wear it in order to use it. Whether you wear it or not is completely up to you._

_ –Malik_

Yugi finished reading the letter, looked up at his companions, and said, "Well, now we know what Mokuba's line of the prophecy means. 'The Millennium Items will choose new bearers' means that the Items will choose the seven of _us_ as their new wielders!"

Those in the group that were unfamiliar with the Millennium Items, Tristan, Mokuba, Joey, Serenity and Téa all looked excited at this new development. Yugi looked excited too as always, but Ryou Bakura muttered to himself, "Oh dear, not again."

Yugi carefully opened the second box, and inside–among the hundreds of packing peanuts–glinted the ancient Millennium Items. The group stared at these familiar items in awe, having forgotten how magnificent they looked. As one, the items magically rose out of the package and gently floated to their new masters, stopping and hovering a few feet in front of their faces. The Eye went to Tristan, the Key to Joey, the Necklace to Téa, the Puzzle to Yugi, the Ring to Ryou, and the Scales to Serenity. Mokuba looked at the last item–the Rod–in confusion. All of the other items had chosen a bearer, why not the Rod? Then he remembered. Seto was still in a coma and couldn't use the Rod at this point.

"Since my brother can't use it yet, I'll take the Rod. I promise to keep it safe, until Seto wakes up." Mokuba muttered, more to the Rod than his friends. As the gang familiarized themselves with their newest possessions, [or in some cases re-familiarized] they talked of what they were going to do next. They eventually decided to travel to Egypt to help the Ishtars solve their current mystery. Joey added, "Well, wat are we waitin' for everybody? To da airport!"

* * *

><p><span>End of chapter 3<span>

Next chapter teaser: Afterlife

Here is the awaited third chapter for you! If anyone spots the subtle joke I put in here, they get a free cookie! Yay! (Hint: it's in _italics_).

I'd like to take this sentence to thank Araghast for writing such a cool duel for me! Thanks!

I'm sorry about the descriptions of the Ishtars. I'm not that creative when it comes to clothes, so I just dressed Ishizu and Odion in their Battle City outfits, and Malik in his 'Dawn of the Duel' arc ensemble. If you have any suggestions, I need all the help I can get!

Aww. Poor Roo. Doesn't he remember that his yami got his posterior kicked in the Memory World and thus is no longer in the Ring? Guess not. [Sorry to all you Yami B. lovers, but in this story, Bakura is/was the ultimate evil, and has been defeated permanently. You still get to see Ryou, though, so no complaining!]

What do you guys think of Ms. Itonami? Her first name means 'flower' or 'blossom' in Japanese, and her last name is a word for 'life' (I think). She is my OC, and is very mysterious, ne? And why did she call Mahaad 'master'? Ooo, Cliffhanger!

Anyway, on to Egypt!

Tsunami Storm


	4. Afterlife

Hi everybody! I've received a number of amazing reviews from several people, and decided to award them–and you–with the long-awaited next chapter!

_**Author's Note:**_ This chapter contains a flashback. From now on, flashbacks will be flanked by –Flashback– inserts. Read, Enjoy, and Review!

* * *

><p>In the Field of Reeds, the final home of the pharaohs of Egypt, king Atem sat in thought, trailing his bare feet in the crystal-clear waters of the Nile River. On his right hand sat his loyal cousin and successor, Seth. On his left sat his best childhood friend and most faithful servant, Mahaad, once known as the Dark Magician. Atem sighed with seeming contentment, but his heart told a different story. He would never admit it aloud to his companions, but the truth was that he missed his friends in the 21st century terribly. He wished that there was some way for them to all live in that world, at peace and together. He regretted his unbearably-short reign as Pharaoh, and silently thought that his reign and the lives of his friends should have been longer and filled with peace, instead of filled with suffering and terror and cut tragically short.<p>

Suddenly Atem heard a soft whisper on the wind. The voice sounded familiar, but he could not immediately place it. The ethereal voice uttered, _**"Oh, my friends. I miss you guys so much, Atem. You, master Mahaad, Mana, Seth, Kisara**_–_** everyone. Someday we will see each other again, I promise."**_

Atem looked to his left and right in shock and asked, _**"Did either of you two hear that?"**_

Seth and Mahaad assumed questioning looks. _**"Hear what, my king?"**_ Mahaad asked.

Atem shook his head and muttered, _**"It's nothing, really. I just thought I heard a familiar voice from when I was alive. It sounded like**_–_** Hana. But that's not possible. She disappeared shortly after Zorc began his attack."**_

Seth and Mahaad gasped. They too remembered the young woman known as Hana. She had been one of Mahaad's first apprentices of magic and was quite the energetic student. In fact, many of her qualities were present in Mana as well; headstrong, playful, mischievous, yet calm and controlled when the situation demanded it. Seth had thought of the young woman as a little sister, as she would always seem to know just what to say when he had needed comfort. No one knew what had happened to her, but it was assumed that she was killed in the final battle, for no one could find any trace of her afterwards. Hana had been a brilliant student of the mystical arts, and Mahaad would have even gone so far as to call her a prodigy. She had mastered some spells in days when it had taken her master months.

Hana would always dress modestly, her attire resembling a cross between what Mana would wear and what Isis would often be seen in. The only jewelry she always wore was a small gold cartouche necklace, her name embedded with figures made from lapis lazuli. She said it had been a gift from her late parents, and she would wear it every day to remember and honor them. Pharaoh Akunumkanon had taken pity on the two-year-old orphan and had allowed her to live in the palace, hoping that this young girl could be a kind of sibling to his year-old son Atem. And so the children grew up, having many adventures and misadventures, triumphs and trials, until the young Prince Atem became the next Pharaoh of Egypt. Hana was present at the ceremonial festival–sitting on the second-floor balcony–watching the events unfold from above. She was outraged when Bakura barged in uninvited, and days later, when Zorc was attacking the city, she tried to protect her 'little brother' with her powers.

Unfortunately she was no match for Zorc, although she _did_ manage to wound him slightly. In retaliation, he seized her and threw her into the sky. Somehow she was thrown five thousand years into the future and thousands of miles from her home. She landed in an unfamiliar city in the Americas, and somehow remembered everything that had transpired in the centuries that she had passed during her journey through time. She spent about a week in the area–gathering useful supplies–then moved to Domino, Japan and was hired as an archaeologist by the local museum. One month later, an announcement came that there was going to be an important archaeological dig in Egypt, and she immediately volunteered to help out. When Hana heard that the purpose of the dig was to recover the seven Millennium Items, she immediately knew what it meant. Horakhty's ancient prophecy was about to be fulfilled.

Atem sighed once again, then picked himself up from his position and wandered over to where his other Guardians and friends stood. He had looked all over this spirit world, but he still could not find his adopted sister. He had no idea what had become of her, and he missed her.

* * *

><p>Domino General Hospital, a few days later, around noon–<p>

Mokuba sat in the comfy chair at his brother's bedside. It had been almost a month and a half since his brother had slipped into this coma, and Mokuba was starting to wonder if he'd ever wake up. Yugi and his friends were in Egypt with the Ishtars on some important mission, but Mokuba volunteered to stay behind to look after his brother. Duke Devlin and Mai Valentine had stopped by a few times, and had expressed their 'get well soon' wishes as well.

Sighing and seeing no change in his brother's condition, Mokuba got up from his chair and turned on the television. He turned the channel to the news, then sat back in his chair and watched intently.

"–In other news, the results of the recent archaeological dig have been released. Our sources tell us that the expedition to a remote island west of Egypt was a complete success, and that the team uncovered glyphs that have not been seen for millennia. They also recovered a number of priceless artifacts, and these items are now on display in the Egyptology exhibit in the Cairo Museum–"

Mokuba smiled softly and thought, _Yeah, but they didn't get the most important artifacts, the Millennium Items. I wonder what Ishizu told them about those?_

"Well, that's all the latest news for today. Hopefully we'll see you all tomorrow for the 11:00 news. Thank you and good night."

"This has been World News Tonight with Peter Jennings–"

_Click._ Mokuba turned the channel from the world news to a local news station, wanting to hear if the courts had made a decision on Saruwatari's case. He finally found one, then sat back and listened to the story.

"–Today the courts declared Kemo Saruwatari–accused of attempted murder of young CEO Seto Kaiba–guilty and sentenced the man to twenty-five years in maximum-security prison for his crimes. Saruwatari is reported to have commented afterwards: 'He deserved it! I was doing the world a favor! Why did they have to go and save him? The world would be better off with him dead!' before being led away by the authorities–"

_Bzzt._ Mokuba shut off the TV, having heard all that he needed to hear. He turned to his comatose brother, leaned forward and whispered, "Did you hear that, big brother? Kemo's guilty, and he got twenty-five years in prison for what he did to you! Serves him right, the big jerk!"

Mokuba leaned back in his chair and thought back to that fateful day.

–Flashback–

When they were in the elevator traveling to the lobby, Mokuba had been observing his brother and wondered, _Why does Nii-sama always wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants? I never really noticed that before, but now that I think back, I haven't seen him in a t-shirt or shorts since Dad was alive_–

As they were riding to the park in the back of the limo, Mokuba turned to his brother and asked, "Hey Seto? Why do you always wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants year-round, even in the summer? I've never seen you in shorts or a t-shirt, at least not since the orphanage. Why is that?"

Seto grimaced, the memories flooding his mind. He knew exactly why he didn't wear those kinds of clothes anymore, he just couldn't find a way to tell his little brother. Not without completely traumatizing him, anyway. Someone else had asked him that question recently–one of his employees–and he had lied and said that it was simply a modesty issue. He supposed that _was_ true, in a way. He was embarrassed about it, and didn't want anybody to know. Especially Mokuba. The kid would be devastated if he found out. He knew that Mokuba would find out one day, but he intended for that day to come as far into the future as was possible. In fact, if he could take this secret to the grave, then that would be best. He seriously doubted that would happen, but one could always hope, right?

"Uh, Seto? Are you gonna answer my question?"

"Yeah. Sorry Mokuba, I was just thinking. I'll– I'll tell you when you're older. How's that?"

Mokuba scowled, but dropped the subject. He was fifteen! How much older would he need to be for Seto to tell him? Mokuba wondered if it was not _he_ who was not ready to know, but that _Seto_ was not ready. Mokuba shrugged. He didn't really need to know, and Seto would tell him when he saw fit. By this time they had arrived at the park, and Mokuba jumped out of his seat and ran to the jungle gym. Seto told the limo driver to park the vehicle at their home, as they were planning on walking back to the mansion. Then he followed his brother over to the playground with a small smirk. He genuinely loved spending time like this with Mokie, but hardly ever got the chance.

–End Flashback–

* * *

><p>The Valley of the Kings, same time–<p>

Yugi and his friends accompanied the digging crew as they made their way to the tomb of the first of the eleven 'stars'–a person they knew well–the once-Nameless Pharaoh Atem. They had hired a few guides, and were now camped outside of the tomb, taking a short rest before going inside. They had told Ishizu and her brothers what they had found out about the prophecy, and reasoned that they needed to recover the bodies of the protectors of the Millennium Items, including their friend Atem. However, Ishizu's vision had mentioned _eleven_ individuals, and there were only _seven_ items, so they had no idea who the other four people were.

Joey was the first to enter the tomb and–remembering what had happened last time–kicked a small pebble in front of him when he approached the two snake statues. The poison darts bounced harmlessly off the stone, and the group ventured on to the burial chamber. Eventually they came upon the resting place of the Pharaoh, and the team of technicians quickly worked to carefully remove the body and encase it in a specialized pod for transportation to the laboratory. Hana was among them, and she thought to herself with a smile, _Well Atem, it looks like you'll be getting your wish after all._ Then the group left the sanctuary and made their way back to the lab.

…

"Okay, I have no idea what I am doing."

"Relax Miss Ishtar, _I_ know what _I'm_ doing and what I have to do. Just calm down and do exactly as I tell you." Hana comforted.

Ishizu took a few calming breaths, then sat down in the nearest chair. She put her hand to her forehead and sighed, "The scriptures always leave out the menial stuff, and the unpleasant stuff."

Malik smirked and put a comforting hand around his sister's shoulders. "Don't worry Nee-san, Miss Itonami knows what to do. I just get this feeling about her. She's– powerful. There's a mystical air about her. I can't explain it, but– I trust her."

Ishizu nodded, then stood and turned to Hana for her next instructions. Hana asked her to carefully expose the body's heart and forehead, as they would be the targets for her mysterious procedure. Ishizu did as she was asked and unwrapped the centuries-old body carefully and uncovered the heart area and the brow. Hana nodded her thanks, then asked everyone to clear the room. When they questioned her she simply answered, "I need my full concentration for this procedure. You don't want anything to go wrong, do you?"

The group shook their heads and slowly filed out of the room, giving Hana some room to work her magic. They all filed out into the waiting room where the rest of the group had stayed behind. Téa and Serenity did not want to see what was happening in the adjoining room. They would see their friend again when the procedure had been completed.

Hana slowly exposed her hands by removing her gloves. She then chanted an ancient spell that would allow her to restore the time-worn vessel to its former state, and her hands began to glow with a bright blue light. She laughed quietly, "Atem my brother, you're going to get the surprise of your afterlife!"

* * *

><p>Worlds away in the realm of the spirits, Atem was talking with his friends and family, discussing and reliving their days in Egypt. Most of them were laughing and the rest were observing with amused smiles on their faces. Mahaad, Mana, Seth and Atem were having the most fun, remembering all the trouble they would get into when they were children. Kisara was also there at Seth's side, laughing at the antics the pharaoh was describing.<p>

_**"Oh, my pharaoh! I had forgotten about that incident! Truly that was a day of disaster in the palace!"**_ Mahaad gasped, trying unsuccessfully to recover his breath. _**"Remember that one time that Mana accidentally turned Seth into one of his Shadow Creatures? It took us forever to reverse it!"**_

_**"Yes, I'll never forget that time. I spent a whole day walking around as 'Mystic Horseman'!"**_ Seth chuckled, ruffling Mana's hair playfully. _**"Eventually we had to ask Pharaoh and my fellow Guardians to reverse it. I'd never been more embarrassed in my life!"**_

_**"Yeah, I'd never seen someone's face turn that particular shade of red before. I was worried you'd break a blood vessel!"**_ Mana piped in, also doubled over with mirth. _**"Thankfully master Akunadin was able to undo it!"**_

Akunumkanon and Akunadin smiled and shook their heads in amusement at the memory, also remembering all the trouble their sons would get into. It had truly been an– _interesting_ day at the palace when Seth joined the Sacred Guardians of the Pharaoh.

_**"Well look at it this way Seth, at least you weren't fused with '**_Rabid_** Horseman'!"**_ Atem interjected, causing the group to fall into fits of laughter once again. Suddenly the area was filled with a blinding white light, and Horakhty appeared to the small gathering of friends and family. Turning to Atem, she said, _**"Great pharaohs of Egypt, sacred Guardians and friends, I bring thee tidings of the mortal world. The ancient prophecy is about be fulfilled. Since all of you sacrificed so much to save the past and future of the world from Zorc**_–_**many of you giving your very lives**_–_**you will all be granted another chance. Even now a friend and her companions are searching for your vessels and restoring them to their original strength. Soon the new chosen ones will appear and grant you your lives anew, so that you may lead long and peaceful lives, as you should have had."**_ Then in another flash of light, Horakhty faded from view.

_**"Well my king,"**_ Mahaad commented after everyone had recovered from the shock of Horakhty's message, _**"it looks like you will be seeing your friends in the twenty-first century sooner than you thought. I know you have missed them."**_

Atem's eyes lit up at this, and a single word escaped his lips.

"Aibou."

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><p><span>End of chapter 4<span>

Next chapter teaser: Restored

Yeah, Seto was complaining that he wasn't getting much 'screen-time', so I put him in a flashback. Happy now?

Seto: I guess.

Me: Good! Because you won't be in for a while again. The other characters need some love too! It's not all about you, ya know!

Mokuba asked a question that has intrigued me for some time. Why _is_ Seto always dressed so modestly? Is it because of his values, or is it something else?

We finally learn who this mysterious 'Hana' person is! Interesting! And she's resurrecting Atem and his companions! Sorry if I triggered some gross mental images with my descriptions, just– try not to think about it too much. That's what I do!

About the misadventures in the palace, I tried to make up something funny, yet believable. Poor Seth! That's all I can say!

The news anchor that I mentioned in chapter 1? He's back! He's based on my favorite anchor person of all time, Peter Jennings. R.I.P. Cookies for all of you who guessed it! I hope I did those news programs and weather reports justice. I don't watch a lot of TV, [except Yu-Gi-Oh! ;)] so I hope it sounds like a news report should. I try to make this story as accurate as possible!

Tsunami Storm


	5. Restored

Here's chapter 5 for you! Read, Enjoy, and Review!

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><p>Somewhere in Egypt–<p>

The company of archaeologists and the gang were well on their way to fulfilling the ancient prophecy. They had already found ten of the eleven nobles, and were working to find the last. For this final noble they would need to embark on a quest to find the lost temple of the White Dragon, a secret temple that Pharaoh Seth had built to honor the woman he loved and her spirit beast, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Unfortunately the temple had been lost for millennia, and its location remained a mystery for centuries. The temple was also a tomb, where the vessel of the White Dragon had been laid to rest. Hana and her new friends camped at the edge of the Sahara, awaiting the cessation of a vicious sandstorm.

A few others had joined the band of archaeologists and adventurers since its start. Solomon Mutou, Maximilian Pegasus and Arthur and Rebecca Hawkins now accompanied the party, eager to find this lost temple to a Duel Monster whose power was said to rival that of the Egyptian gods.

After a few hours the sandstorm finally blew itself out, and the team resumed their quest for the ancient temple. Just a few minutes into the trip, Joey inquired, "Are we dere yet?"

"NO!"

"–How 'bout now?"

Hana simply smiled and shook her head, then switched her position to the back of the group to walk beside Joey. She turned to him and said, "Joey, we're looking for a temple that's been lost for _centuries_. We don't know _when_ we'll be there. So just try to be patient, 'kay?"

Joey grumbled a little, but then agreed and remained silent. Hana resumed her position at the head of the group and led them further and further into the desert. After hours of walking, Hana was getting tired of the seemingly wild goose chase. She took three more steps, then tripped over a protruding rock and fell flat on her face. Embarrassed, she quickly picked herself up and dusted herself off, glaring at the stone as if it had tripped her on purpose. Suddenly she recognized the stone and shouted, "Stop! I think we've found it! The temple is buried beneath the sand! The storm must have uncovered the top of the statue!"

The team of archaeologists quickly removed their gear from their packs and began working on unearthing the archaic structure. Hana helped the most, lifting tons of sand away from the site using her power. She no longer cared if people knew about her powers. Let them think what they will. Fortunately, Yugi and his friends accepted Hana for who she was, and she quickly became friends with them. After hours of hard work the team finally finished, then sat back to rest and admire the monument they had uncovered.

Hana found herself at a loss for words on how to describe the magnificent building. Her friend Seth certainly had spared no expense in the construction of this temple. Most of the temple was carved from beautiful white marble, and on the roof was perched a titanic silver statue of the dragon herself, in the process of releasing a jet of White Lightning. It seemed that Seth had combined all the splendor of the temples of Egypt with all the majesty of the Grecian temples of their deities. The columns were wound with silver bands, and every few yards stood a life-sized likeness of the white dragon, her eyes represented by fiery blue pieces of lapis lazuli.

At the back of the temple and raised on a plinth stood a casket carved of lapis lazuli and adorned in silver. Inside the tomb lay a sarcophagus, which Hana knew housed the body of her white-haired friend Kisara. Hana quickly brought a pod into the temple and carefully transferred the five-thousand year-old vessel from its resting place to the capsule. She sealed the pod, then cleaned out the sepulcher so that her companions would not see the evidence of decay.

As the rest of the questers entered, they marveled in quiet awe and wonder. They had never seen such beauty and majesty before in their entire lives. Pegasus ran to the nearest statue of Blue-Eyes and exclaimed, "Magnificent! Amazing! The detail! The power! Truly whoever carved and commissioned these statues was no mere artist, but a genius!"

Solomon and Professor Hawkins simply gaped at the awe-inspiring carvings on the walls, deciphering the ancient symbols with excitement. Rebecca contented herself with accompanying Yugi everywhere, much to the ire of Téa, who did not approve of her behavior towards her friend. Ishizu and her team of archaeologists once again documented everything, knowing that this discovery would revolutionize the way people viewed the history of Egypt. When the entire temple had been documented and recorded on film, Hana and her companions left the sanctuary and once more ventured out into the desert. They returned to their camp just before sunset, then quickly packed up the site and returned to the city of Cairo. It was from Cairo Airport that they planned to depart Egypt and return to Domino to continue their work on fulfilling the prophecy.

The next morning, Hana, Solomon, Yugi and the gang bade farewell to their friends and boarded the private Kaibacorp. jet bound for Domino. Pegasus, Rebecca and her grandfather boarded a different plane to return to America. The Ishtars wished Hana and company a safe journey and success in restoring their friends to this world. As the plane took off into the sky, Hana looked down at the Great Pyramid below them and thought, _Well Atem, it won't be long now. Soon you will all be back where you belong. _

* * *

><p>Meanwhile at Kaibacorp. headquarters, Mokuba and a team of technicians were hard at work getting everything ready. Hana had sent Mokuba an e-mail asking him to ready eleven stasis pods for their return from the mission to Egypt. Mokuba had agreed, and was now putting the finishing touches on a twelfth pod. In the months that passed after Atem left, Seto Kaiba had begun working on a new, personal project. Seto had realized that all the time he spent at Kaibacorp. was causing his brother extreme loneliness, so he decided that Mokuba deserved a playmate, someone to keep him company while he worked. So he began this project in secret, trusting no one to help him with it. Of course, Mokuba soon found out, and was now adjusting a few wires that connected the pod to the computer terminal in front of it.<p>

The vessel inside the pod was indeed a miracle of modern science and technology. In theory, the robot would look, act, function and feel exactly like a normal human body would. Seto had even programmed the software to change itself over time so that the body would grow just as a normal human would. The body resembled a fifteen-year-old boy, the same age as Mokuba. It had dark-blue eyes, a pale complexion, and sea-green hair. When Seto was designing the body, he knew that its future host was about his own age, not Mokuba's, but designed it to be five years younger than him anyway. It was something of a private joke for him. He knew that Mokuba wouldn't care. The kid would just be happy that Seto had finally agreed to return their step-brother to this world. According to Mokuba, Noah Kaiba had spent far too long in that awful virtual world already, and considering that he had helped them to escape from Gozaburo's clutches, he felt that it was high time he was freed from that prison.

Mokuba finished with his adjustments to the pod itself, then jogged over to the computer terminal. He quickly connected the terminal to the internet and after merely a few minutes of searching, found Noah's back-up file. He double-clicked on the folder and a new window opened on the screen. It showed a child's bedroom with a small, twelve-year-old boy sitting on the nearby bed. The boy was leaning on his hands and facing away from the screen, staring at nothing in particular. He wore a white shirt with purple trim and white matching shorts. On his feet were navy-blue socks and brown shoes. Mokuba gasped in delight. He had found Noah! Swiftly he put on the headset and cried, "Noah! Noah! Look over here! It's me, Mokuba!"

Noah started and turned around, his eyes widening in shock when he saw his step-brother through the two-way mirror. He smiled with joy and ran over to the screen, pressing his hands up against the barrier and exclaiming, "Mokuba! Is it really you? Oh, I've missed you so much! If it weren't for this barrier, I'd hug you right now!"

Mokuba laughed and answered, "Same here, Noah. I'm glad I finally found you! Seto said that you can come to this world and live with us! He even built you a new body to use!" Mokuba turned the screen around and pointed it at the twelfth pod so that Noah could see. "Isn't it great? We'll be a _real_ family now! I just need to upload your mind to that body, and then you'll have your life back!"

Noah's jaw dropped in surprise, and he asked, "Seto– did this– for _me_? But after everything I did– I thought he'd _hate_ me!"

Mokuba looked down for a moment and said, "He might've hated you at first, but he doesn't anymore. You're _family_ Noah, and families stick together!"

Noah slowly smiled, his mouth still slightly open in surprise. He nodded, then ran as fast as he could to the Domino arcade, where the upload link could be activated. He dashed over to the DDR game, then stepped onto the blue dance pad. Then he nodded to show Mokuba that he was ready.

Mokuba also nodded, then keyed in the command for upload. Before pressing the last button, he checked to see if the technicians had completed their tasks. They had, so Mokuba kindly asked them to vacate the room for a little while. Once the last person had left, Mokuba returned to the terminal and pressed the Enter/Return key. Millions of electronic pulses traveled from the terminal to the stasis pod, and the robot body's lungs inflated as Noah Kaiba took in his first breath in almost nine years. Mokuba quickly drained the fluid from the pod, then opened the screen so that his step-brother could get out.

Noah slowly climbed out of the capsule, and looked down at his new body in wonder. Mokuba walked over to a nearby closet and handed Noah a pair of pants and a shirt to wear. Noah realized that he was walking around in only a pair of underwear, and accepted the clothing with a sheepish grin and a nod of thanks. Mokuba simply smiled and told him it was nothing.

When Noah had finished dressing himself, he took a few moments to familiarize himself with his new body, having not had one for years. He was not used to seeing the world from this height, as he had instantly grown a few inches when his mind had been transferred to the fifteen-year-old body. He could get used to it though, if it meant that he would never have to go back to that virtual nightmare again.

Noah then walked over to the adjoining exercise room and began to test his body's strength. After a few minutes of that, he concluded that he now possessed all the physical strength of a normal teenager. He opened the door to where Mokuba was, then ran over to his brother and embraced him in a hug. Joyous tears streaming from his eyes, he breathed, "Thank you, Mokuba." However, Mokuba could sense the enormous emotion behind those three simple words, and he echoed mentally, _Thank you, Seto._

* * *

><p>Kaibacorp. headquarters, a few days later–<p>

The eight special guests filed into the building, marveling at the array of technology and specialized equipment around them. Mokuba and Noah greeted the group as they entered, and many of the gang did double-takes when they saw the newest member of the Kaiba family. Mokuba had been searching for Noah's birth records, and would have them updated when he found them. Now Noah would be just as much a member of the family as he or Seto was. Joey's reaction was the most notable. He cried, "GYAAH! Wat da– Wat's _he_ doin' here?! Aw man, we're in da virtual world again! Listen, ya little brat. When I get my hands on you–"

The gang then had to hold Joey back as Mokuba explained the situation. Joey then remembered that Noah had helped them to escape, and so relented. He then walked over to Noah and offered his hand, saying, "Well, welcome back to da real world, kid."

Noah nodded and shook Joey's hand, smiling at his unexpectedly kind words. The group then walked over to the stasis pods that Mokuba had set up a few days earlier and carefully transferred the restored vessels of the eleven nobles from the transportation capsules to the stasis pods. Hana then helped Mokuba attach a number of electrodes to specific points on the bodies, then stepped back as Mokuba closed the screens.

Hana then turned to the group and said, "We're ready to start the process of restoration. For those of you that are unfamiliar with the Millennium Items, just concentrate on the task in front of you. You are going to call the original bearers of your Items back from the spirit world into our world. The first 'star' that will return to the 'sky' will be one that we all know and love, Atem. Yugi, since you have the Puzzle, your call will be slightly stronger than the rest. You need to make sure to transfer his spirit, not into your own body to share as before, but into this restored vessel in the stasis pod. Is everybody clear on what they need to do?"

The group nodded, then held their respective Items high and concentrated their thoughts on bringing Atem back to this world. Hana helped too, strengthening and sharpening the call with her power. She thought, _It's time, Atem my brother. Come back to us._

* * *

><p>Meanwhile–<p>

Atem was sitting in a circle of his friends and family, talking and laughing, when suddenly he began to grow transparent. He looked around in shock, wondering what could possibly be happening. Mahaad gasped and ran over to his friend, asking in horror, _**"My king! Are you all right? What is happening?"**_

Atem looked at his most faithful servant and long-time friend and answered, _**"I know not, my friend. It feels like I'm being**_–_** called. I feel the power of the Puzzle**_–_**as well as the other Items**_–_**and a power that I've not felt for years. It doesn't hurt, it feels like– I don't know, but it's not unpleasant. Do not worry about me, my friends. I'll be fine."**_

By this time, Atem had almost completely vanished from the world beyond. He gave a small, courageous smile to his companions and added softly, _**"–I think."**_

* * *

><p>Back at Kaibacorp. headquarters–<p>

The power and energy produced by the circle of friends was finally beginning to ebb. Unseen by all but one, the spirit of the former pharaoh slowly emerged from the Puzzle's Eye of Wdjat and laid down in the vessel meant for it. The spell broke, and everyone placed their hands over their hearts, trying to regain their breath. After a few minutes of rest, Hana gasped, "Well! _That_ was an adventure. Sorry about that! I didn't think it would take this much energy. At least we know what to expect next time."

The group slowly nodded and indicated that this was nothing. They'd had worse. After this they all gathered around the first stasis pod and waited. Slowly the body's wine-red eyes opened, and Atem took his first breath in over five millennia. He looked around at his friends in shock and asked, "What– happened? Where am I?"

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><p><span>End of chapter 5<span>

Next chapter teaser: A Twist of Fate

Well, here's chapter five! Thank you to all who left me nice reviews and/or added this story to your Favorites list! *munches on cookie* I love you!

So there's one more official chapter that I have planned, then one little omake. *sniff* I know, I don't want this story to end either. But maybe I'll get some inspiration for my other story. Who knows? Anyway, enjoy, and I'll see you next chapter!

Tsunami Storm


	6. A Twist of Fate

_**Author's Note:**_ Change of plans. Apparently, Seth, Mahaad and Atem conspired to steal my outline and shred it to pieces, so now there will be another chapter before the end. Not sure if that's a good thing or not. Oh well. Read, Enjoy, and Review!

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><p>"What– happened? Where am I?" Atem questioned, looking around at his friends from the 21st century. As he surveyed his surroundings, a slow smile started to emerge on his face. Almost everyone that he had befriended in the four years he had shared an identity with Yugi was there. With the exception of Seto Kaiba–who was still in the hospital in a deep coma–everyone was smiling down at him. Then Atem spotted the newest addition to the circle of friends. Hana shyly raised her hand and laughed nervously, "Hey little brother. Long time no see."<p>

As one the rest of the gang's mouths dropped open, and everyone stared at Hana incredulously as she briefly summarized her story for the very-confused former pharaoh of Egypt. She went on to explain what she and the others were working to accomplish, and showed Atem the ten remaining stasis pods that contained the vessels of the pharaoh's court and four of their most loyal friends and family members. Atem then looked over at Yugi and gasped, "Aibou? You've grown since the last time I saw you!"

Yugi blushed and replied, "Yeah, I had a growth spurt a few weeks after you left. I'm 174 centimeters [≈ 5'7''] now, the last time I checked!"

Atem smiled, glad that his closest friend was happy. He greeted every one of his friends with a warm embrace and stood next to his long-lost sister, ecstatic to be among his friends once again. After a few more minutes, the seven new Guardians and Hana once again resumed their circle and held their Items high, trying to summon another of the ten remaining nobles. This time the young woman known as Kisara would be called to this world from the one beyond. The group members concentrated their energy and called out with their minds and their hearts, and soon the White Dragon returned to the mortal world.

Kisara opened her sapphire eyes and looked around at the unfamiliar sights, confusion being the most prominent emotion at the moment. She slowly got up out of the pod and dusted her dress off, curiosity now overcoming confusion. When she saw the former king of Egypt, she bowed down as low as she possibly could and gasped, "My pharaoh! You are well! I am glad, everyone is so worried about you! Especially lord Mahaad and lord Seth. They are probably worried about me now as well, since I disappeared in the same manner that you did."

Hana smiled and sent an encouraging thought to their friends on the other side. She reassured them that both Atem and Kisara were well and in no danger whatsoever. She also told them that they would each journey to this world in the same manner and told them not to fear, as the process was mostly painless [For _them_, anyway]. After that, she took Kisara aside and explained the situation. When Hana was certain that Kisara understood, she introduced her to her friends, who greeted her cordially and politely. After a few minutes of rest, the eight spellcasters resumed their positions and attempted to summon back yet another Guardian.

…

It was in this manner that ten of the eleven nobles were returned to this world. Atem was nearly beside himself with joy–although he did not show it–and silently rejoiced that all of his friends could be in one place at the same time. It had been his greatest wish in the afterlife, and now his wish was being granted. After hours of hard work and concentration, only one noble remained. Hana for some reason had saved Seth for last, knowing that once he had been revived, Seto Kaiba would awaken also. She stood next to Mokuba–who was the temporary bearer of the Rod–and encouraged, "This is it, Mokuba. After we revive this last Guardian, your brother will awaken too. Since Seth possessed a powerful connection to the Millennium Rod, most of the energy will need to come from you. You're going to need to concentrate as hard as you possibly can. I don't know if this will work or not, since you are not the intended recipient of the Rod, your brother is. You _are_ directly related to him though, so it might work after all. I'm not sure. In any case, I'll help you to control your energy, okay?"

Mokuba slowly nodded nervously, then looked at the vessel in the last stasis pod. He was amazed at how closely Seth resembled his brother. He was exactly the same height, had the same build, and Mokuba knew that when he opened his eyes, they would be exactly the same shade of blue that Seto had. However there were a few subtle differences as well. Seth was quite a bit more tanned than his brother was, and his brown hair had a slight tinge of red in it. No one else noticed these differences, but they did not know Seto as well as Mokuba did. Mokuba slowly took Hana's right hand with his left, and held the Rod as high as he could and concentrated on the task ahead. The others were holding their Items high in the air as well and concentrating. As her friends worked to return Atem's cousin to the mortal world, Hana spotted Shadi in a corner of the room. He was smiling slightly and–when Hana looked at him more closely–he muttered so that only she could hear, "My task is now complete. There is no longer a need for a single Guardian of the Sacred Items. Farewell my friends. Good luck, my king."

Then he vanished. Hana smiled, glad that Shadi's spirit could finally be at peace after more than five-thousand years of wandering. She then returned her thoughts to the current task and helped Mokuba strengthen and shape his energy to restore Seth. With a great deal of energy, Mokuba slowly lowered the Rod and pointed its head at the empty vessel in the pod. A stream of light burst from the Eye of Wdjat on the Item, and Seth's body suddenly glowed with a golden aura. The other six wielders looked up and watched as Mokuba almost single-handedly provided the energy and power necessary to restore Seth. Atem stared in awe at the young boy and thought, _He's Kaiba's brother, all right. No one but Seto or someone like him could ever possess that amount of power._

Eventually the golden light faded and Mokuba dropped to his knees, exhausted from the effort. The rest of the gang helped the boy to his feet and then surrounded the last pod. Slowly, Seth opened his blue eyes and blinked a few times, taking his first breath of fresh air in over five millennia. Hana ran over to the computer terminal and opened the screen for her friend, then ran back over and stood by her adopted brother. Seth slowly sat up straight and looked around, his eyes scanning his surroundings in surprise and curiosity. Atem then put a hand on his cousin's shoulder and remarked, "Welcome back, Seth. Welcome back to the world of the living."

A wide smile slowly spread across Seth's face, and he exclaimed, "My king! You are all right! Thank Osiris, I was so worried about you. I was afraid that something terrible had befallen you, my cousin!"

Atem smiled and nodded, answering, "Yes, I am fine. I told you that I would be all right. Everyone else is too. Oh," he suddenly grinned and pointed behind him, "and look who else is here!"

Hana stepped out from behind her friends–ancient and recent–and shyly waved to her friend, her eyes sparkling with tears of joy. Finally her family was back where they belonged. Horakhty's prophecy had finally been fulfilled. All of the 'stars' had been restored to the 'sky', and were granted another chance at life. She quickly explained her story to the very confused Guardian for what seemed the hundredth time that day, and briefly summarized for all the 'nobles' what their purpose was in this world.

"Basically you are free to do whatever you want now. However, there _are_ a few rules. You cannot tell anyone about what you experienced in the next world, and there are laws in this time that must be obeyed. Each one of you will eventually have your own home, but for now you must stay with the bearers of your respective Items. Some of you may stay together if you wish. Does everyone understand that?"

Everyone nodded, then resumed their conversations with their companions and new individuals from the future. Soon the sun began to set, and Hana suggested that everyone return to their respective homes for now. Since Hana knew that Yugi's home would be far too crowded with five extra people, she suggested that Mokuba, Seth, Kisara and Noah stay at the Kaiba mansion until they found homes of their own. Mokuba agreed, then called and asked his limo driver to bring the limousine to the front entrance of the Kaibacorp. building. The limo arrived after a few minutes, and Mokuba's party climbed into the back seat. They then drove off to the Kaiba mansion to rest for the night. The rest of the gang decided to walk home to their respective dwellings with their new companions, and show them the sights of Domino City at night. Serenity and Karim decided to stay with Joey, as she lived in another city that was too far away to walk to. Hana then bade farewell to the Kaibacorp. employees that were working third shift and returned to her apartment.

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><p>The Kaiba Mansion, the next morning–<p>

Mokuba woke to the sound of his favorite song coming from his radio alarm clock. It was about 7:00 in the morning, and Mokuba remembered what had happened the previous day. Now that Seth had been returned to this world, it meant that Seto must have awakened from his coma. He quickly leaped out of bed and started to change out of his pajamas and into his day wear. He walked to the bathroom to brush his teeth, wash his face and attempt to comb his dark mane of hair. While he was occupied with that, he was oblivious to the message that came over the radio waves.

"We interrupt this program to bring you an urgent news report. It has been discovered that Kemo Saruwatari–accused of attempted murder of young CEO Seto Kaiba–has escaped from high-security prison and is now on the run from the law. Authorities are hard at work trying to find and recapture this criminal, but so far have not yet met with success. Families are warned to stay indoors and never venture out alone until the perpetrator is caught, as he is considered highly dangerous and unstable. Police suspect that he might be headed for Domino City to finish what he started two months ago, but this is just speculation. If you or one of your family members encounters him, **do not attempt to subdue him yourself**. Instead, call 911 and let the authorities handle the situation."

"This has been an important message from the Domino City authorities. We now return to our regular programming. Thank you for listening."

When Mokuba finished freshening up, he turned off his radio and went downstairs to find some breakfast. He had just started to make himself some toast and eggs when Seth and Kisara walked into the room. Kisara was wide awake, her bright blue eyes alight with excitement, but Seth looked as if he was still half-asleep. He was wearing a borrowed pair of Seto's pajamas, and for a moment fooled Mokuba into thinking that his brother was standing there. Mokuba then remembered that Seto was not home yet and offered to make some breakfast for his two new guests. Seth and Kisara gratefully accepted, and Mokuba quickly cracked four more eggs into a skillet and turned the stove on.

As the three were sitting at the table–having finished breakfast–a sleepy Noah came shuffling into the kitchen. Mokuba immediately offered to make him some eggs as well, but Noah shook his head and said simply, "Nah, that's okay Mokuba. I'll just have some cereal."

Mokuba shrugged and continued his conversation with his new brother and sister. After Noah finished, Mokuba helped Seth and Kisara pick out some suitable clothes to wear for the day. Kisara had to borrow an old outfit from one of the maids, since there were no other women's clothes in the house. Mokuba then called the limo driver with his cell phone and asked him to drive him to Domino General Hospital. Seth and Kisara asked if they could accompany the young boy, and Mokuba agreed. Noah opted to stay behind, wanting to explore the many rooms in the mansion. Mokuba nodded and laughed, "Okay, just try not to get lost!"

Noah laughed at that too, then bade Mokuba, Seth and Kisara a safe journey. Arriving at the hospital, Mokuba ran to his brother's room, anxious to see his big brother again after two months. Seth and Kisara followed and upon arriving in the room, saw that Yugi and his three closest friends were already there, sitting and standing around Kaiba's bed. One of the doctors was there too, checking Seto's vital signs and overall condition. Mokuba approached the doctor and asked, "Doctor? Is he awake yet? Was there any change?"

The doctor sadly shook his head and answered, "I'm afraid not, master Mokuba. If any change has occurred, it would be that Mr. Kaiba's condition has worsened. I'm terribly sorry sir, but there is nothing more that modern medicine can do for him. What he needs now– is a miracle."

Mokuba gasped, then ran over to his brother and grabbed his hand, pleading with him to wake up. The doctor sighed and left the room after a moment to attend to his other patients. Kisara approached the bed where Seto lay and gasped, "Hey, I _know_ him! I saw him once in Egypt! I was looking for my lord Seth and met him instead. I didn't know what he was doing there at the time, but once he helped to defeat Zorc, I knew that he was a companion of the friends of the pharaoh from the future. I knew we would meet again someday, but I didn't think it would be like this." she stood at Seth's side, and he put his arms around her in a comforting embrace. Joey brushed his sleeve across his eyes and sniffed.

"Hey Kaiba? I dunno if you can hear me or not, but– I just wanted ta say –I'm sorry. I'm sorry for all da mean tings I said ta ya. Yer not an insensitive jerk. Yer like a guardian angel to yer little brother. I– I shoulda treated ya better. I'm sorry." he broke off, turning away so that his friends wouldn't see his tears.

One by one the rest of the gang expressed their feelings to their comatose friend. Yugi finally stepped up–tears brimming in his large amethyst eyes–and whispered, "Why? _Why_? He was just trying to protect his little brother, from what I heard. Why did this have to happen? Why can't people just see him for what he really is, a hero? He's been a hero from the very beginning. His whole life he has protected Mokuba, and in that duel with Dartz he was willing to risk his very _soul_ to save the whole world from destruction. If that's not what a hero is, then I don't know what would be." he finally broke down, collapsing into the chair behind him and sobbing into his arms.

Seth then came forward, put his hand over Kaiba's heart and was about to say something when he gasped, "Wait! He's– I recognize this condition. Seto Kaiba is not in a coma, his body has merely been placed in stasis while his soul is elsewhere! If we can find where his spirit has gone, Seto will awaken from this state!"

Yugi and the others looked up at this and immediately started asking questions. Mokuba, shocked at this revelation, queried, "But, if Seto's not here, then where is he?"

Seth again placed his hand on Kaiba's heart and concentrated his power. After a few moments he answered, "He's in the Dominion of the Beasts. The realm of the ancient Shadow Creatures, or–as they are called in your time–Duel Monsters."

"_WHAT_?"

* * *

><p><span>End of chapter 6<span>

Next chapter teaser: Reunion

Here is the long-awaited chapter six! Sorry I took so long to update, I couldn't think of anything to write. *sigh* Writer's Block is a pain, and I hate it with a passion!

Anyway, there is only one more chapter after this, then the omake. Hmm. On the one hand, I'm kinda sick of writing, but on the other, I don't want this story to end!

So all the Guardians are back, plus four special guests, but now Seto is stuck in the Dominion of the Beasts! Yikes! How will he get home? You'll find out next chapter!

Has anyone noticed that I always end my chapters with somebody saying something? Oh well. It makes a good cliffhanger, doesn't it?

See you next chapter!

Tsunami Storm


	7. Reunion

_**Author's Note:**_ This chapter is gonna be much longer than the others, so brace yourselves! I have a lot of info to cover, and one chapter to cram it into. Read, Enjoy, and Review!

* * *

><p>The Dominion of the Beasts–<p>

"Awaken, Seto. We must leave this dangerous area," said a deep, familiar voice somewhere above his head. Seto slowly groaned and opened his eyes, blinking at the light from the midday sun. Directly above him knelt an exceptionally tall figure, his features a mystery due to the sun shining behind him. Seto looked at his companion in denial. It– _couldn't_ be– could it?

"D– D-_Dad_?"

The mysterious stranger slowly shook his head in answer, then moved to Kaiba's other side so that he could see him better. The man was dressed as a royal knight, dark blue and white armor shielding his tall form. Seto studied his face and found that the knight closely resembled him, but had golden hair instead of brown. His eyes were the same color as Mokuba's, dark gray with just a hint of blue. In his right hand he wielded a double-edged sword almost as tall as Mokuba was. The knight offered a gauntleted hand, and Seto took it, pulling himself to his feet. Aside from a slight headache and a dull pain in his left leg, Kaiba surmised that he was relatively unharmed. He carefully dusted himself off, then turned to his companion and asked, "Okay, where am I? And who are you?"

The knight assumed a shocked and slightly-hurt expression at these words, but quickly recovered. He raised a questioning eyebrow and replied, "My lord, do you not remember me? It was _you_ who freed me from my ten-thousand-year imprisonment in crystal! Though, I suppose I did not appear then as I do now."

Seto studied the knight more closely, then stepped back in shock and shouted, "_Critias_?!"

Critias grinned and nodded. He then gestured for Kaiba to follow him, saying, "It is not safe here. There are dangerous beasts in this area. Duel Monsters are not the only beings that dwell in this realm. Come with me to the Castle. It is much safer there."

Seto nodded and tried to follow the knight, but as he took his first step, intense pain lanced up his leg. He cried out and fell onto his back, gripping the injured area tightly with his hands. Critias quickly rushed over to him and knelt down beside him again. He put a hand over the injured area and concentrated his power. After a few seconds he looked up and said, "I am surprised that you did not notice this injury before. The tibia in your left leg has been broken in several places. Fortunately the fractures appear to be clean breaks, so it should not be too difficult to heal."

Seto nodded and, remembering Critias' ability to absorb the power of one trap card, sifted through his deck and pulled out the necessary card. He held it up so that Critias could see and told him, "Critias, use your ability and absorb the power of this card, 'Gift of the Mystical Elf' and heal my leg."

Critias nodded with a small smile and raised his sword high into the air, and it glowed with a bright blue light. Bringing it down to eye level, Critias touched the flat of the blade near the hilt with his left hand. When he pulled his hand away, it glowed with the same blue light. Critias gently placed his hand on Kaiba's injured leg and allowed the power to leave his hand and surround the shattered bone. The leg glowed a faint blue and sparks of magic fell from the air and were absorbed into the injury. Kaiba could actually _feel_ the magic knitting his bone back together, and after a few moments tested the leg to see if it could support him. He was pleased to find that his leg had been completely restored to full functionality. He then stood and nodded his thanks to Critias, who returned the gesture with a small smile and motioned for Kaiba to follow.

After about two hours of walking, they finally arrived at the castle, and Seto could not help but gasp in wonder at the majestic sight before him. The castle was just as he remembered it, golden turrets and rooftops gleaming on top of white marble towers and walls. When they approached the front gate, a deep voice boomed out, "Who goes there?"

Critias closed his eyes, smiled and shook his head. Then he looked up and replied, "It is I Timaeus. I have found the traveler. He was unconscious near the Fountain. Will you open the gate so that we may enter?"

No reply came, but the heavy iron doors swung open to admit them into the castle. Critias and Seto made their way through the gateway and into the enormous courtyard. As they passed through, a knight clad in turquoise armor jumped from the gatehouse atop the wall and landed beside them. He then knelt down on one knee and stated, "Chosen Duelist Seto. It is good to see you again, and an honor to welcome you to our home. Please, follow me. Our companions are anxious to meet you in person."

Seto did not know what the knight meant by that statement, but followed the two legendary knights into the castle anyway. As he entered, he gasped aloud in awe. He remembered this room from his vision. This room was where he had freed the dragon Critias by removing the sword from the ice. At the time there had been one dragon left, Hermos, but now that Joey had freed him, the room had been converted to a banquet hall where a few of the more humanoid Duel Monsters sat around long tables eating a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, and an assortment of grain products. Critias invited Seto to join them, and he took an apple to be polite. When he took a bite out of it, he gasped. The fruit was like nothing he had ever tasted before, yet it still resembled the sweet taste that he remembered from his world.

At the other end of the hall, a young woman in pink and blue armor waved at him from across the table. She had long blonde hair and green eyes. Seto instantly recognized her as the Dark Magician Girl, and surmised that the being on her right was her master, the Dark Magician. However, he did not look like the spellcaster he remembered. His purple armor was the same, but instead of a face, the monster had only two blue lights for eyes that were surrounded by darkness, and his hands were covered by blue gauntlets. His familiar emerald staff rested against the table next to him, on his right side.

Critias noticed Seto's confusion and explained, "That is the 'Illusion Magician'. The original form of the Duel Monster before he was fused with a human spellcaster five thousand years ago. I believe the man was named Mahaad, and he was a good friend to the pharaoh, the one that freed my friend Timaeus. When Atem defeated Zorc in the Memory World, the Dark Magician ceased to exist, and the Illusion Magician took his place. The spirit of Mahaad passed on to the next world to join its companions."

Seto nodded in understanding, then sat down at the table between Critias and Hermos to finish his apple. When he had finished, Critias motioned for Seto to follow him. Seto complied, and the two left the banquet hall and ascended a long flight of stairs. At the top, Critias led Seto to a large bedroom down the hall, and Seto gaped at the sheer size of it. "My room needs to be big for my other form to fit in it," Critias explained. Seto nodded. That made sense. Critias walked over to a human-sized faceless statue and began to remove his armor. Underneath he wore a simple dark blue turtleneck and black pants. As he removed each piece of armor from his own body, he buckled it onto the statue. Lastly he removed his helmet, and Seto noticed that Critias' hair was much like his own, except for the color.

Critias then turned to Seto and said, "Our castle is your home for as long as you wish to stay. You are welcome to stay in any room you choose. Here you are an honored guest."

Seto thanked the Legendary Knight, surprised by his kindness. When he asked the Duel Monster if he could use the sofa in this room, Critias laughed and answered, "Oh no, I will not allow that! I shall have an extra bed brought in for you. No guest of mine will be forced to sleep on the couch!"

Seto smiled at that, and once again thanked the swordsman. Suddenly he heard a familiar roar outside the window. He ran to the opening and stared in shock. Critias walked up beside him and chuckled, "It seems that Blue-Eyes wants to welcome you too! She wants to know if you would like a ride."

Seto simply stared at the majestic dragon and nodded slowly, speechless in his awe. Critias smiled as Seto climbed up onto the windowsill, and from there leaped onto the dragon's back, just above the wing joint. The white dragon beat her powerful wings and rose up into the sky, then soared off to the west. Seto marveled at the picturesque scenery below him, and felt an uncontainable joy rising up within him. When Blue-Eyes dove, Seto could not help but let out a shout of exhilaration. Suddenly a dark blue dragon flew up next to them and winked a giant golden eye at Seto. Seto laughed for the first time in years as the two dragons flew across the entire realm, reveling in the pure joy and exhilaration of flight. As Blue-Eyes continued to wheel around in the sky, Seto thought to himself, _If only Mokuba were here to enjoy this_–

* * *

><p>The Kaiba Mansion, an hour before sunset–<p>

Mokuba had invited Yugi, his friends, the eleven nobles and other guests to stay at the Kaiba Mansion. He saw no point in staying in the huge mansion all by himself, and Yugi's house was as cramped as it could be. There was plenty of room for everyone and then some. Mokuba was talking with Seth as to how Seto got to the Dominion of the Beasts in the first place, and how they were going to get him back. The rest of the gang and their friends were holding a mock Duel Monsters tournament just for fun out on the grounds. Those who possessed Millennium Items–minus Mokuba–used the articles to summon various creatures, and the former Guardians–minus Seth–used their own native magic to call the beasts to their aid. The others–who possessed neither items nor magical abilities–used Kaiba's Duel Disk system.

The 'tournament' continued long into the evening, and concluded with a victory for Joey. Atem had lost to Mahaad, and Yugi was beaten by Joey in the finals. Joey jumped high into the air and extended a triumphant fist, remarking, "_Finally_! It's about time I won one a' dese tournaments! I been waitin' for dis since Duelist Kingdom!"

His friends all laughed and Mai reminded him that this had not been an official tournament, but Joey would not be discouraged. He retorted, "Yeah well, den dis was just practice for da next one! I can't wait ta see da look on Kaiba's face when I finally wipe da floor wit him!"

Yugi smiled, rolled his eyes and shook his head in exasperation at his friend. He would always get overexcited about things. Joey _had_ gotten much better since the last time he had dueled Yugi, but Kaiba would be tough to beat. After a while, Mokuba and Seth joined their friends outside while they waited for the staff to finish making supper. Seth spent his time showing Mokuba how to wield the Millennium Rod properly, as he would most likely need to summon creatures in the future. "One can never be too cautious," he had said. If Mokuba were to journey to the Dominion of the Beasts to rescue Seto–as he insisted he would–then he would definitely need to learn how to properly defend himself.

After a delicious feast that even a pharaoh could be proud of, the group settled down to discuss who would go to the other realm to bring Kaiba back. Mokuba immediately volunteered, but his friends disagreed at first, fearing that he might get hurt. However, they reluctantly agreed after much insistence. Yugi and Joey also volunteered, then Tristan, then Téa. Ryou decided to stay behind, not wanting to take any more chances with his Millennium Ring. Mahaad had assured him countless times that the evil Bakura no longer resided in the Item, but Ryou was still wary of it. Serenity had decided to stay behind as well, saying that she wanted to keep Ryou company, but the others knew the truth. She was afraid to venture into a whole new dimension, and it was easy to understand why.

After everyone was prepared for the journey, Téa asked, "Hey guys? How are we supposed to get to the Dominion of the Beasts anyway?"

Yugi looked at his friend and replied, "I'm not sure, Téa. The last time I went there was with Atem when we released Timaeus. Somehow we got there through the magic of the Millennium Puzzle. I don't know how it happened though."

Mahaad joined the group at that point and answered, "There is no need to fear, my friends. The magic will work the same this time as it did then. Simply concentrate on the task at hand, and your Items will take care of the rest. As a former elite spellcaster and Sacred Guardian of the Pharaoh, I journeyed to that dimension often. If I recall correctly, your item will create a small doorway inside your subconscious, or–as some call it–your 'soul room'. This doorway should lead you directly to the Dominion of the Beasts."

The five nodded in understanding, then stood in a circle and concentrated on what they wanted to accomplish. As one, the Eye of Wdjat on each item glowed softly with a golden light, and all five individuals vanished from sight along with their respective items. Mahaad took one last look at the area where his friends had been and muttered softly, "May the gods of Egypt be with you, Chosen Ones."

* * *

><p>The Dominion of the Beasts, shortly after sunset–<p>

"I jus' flew all da way to da Monster Realm, an' boy are my arms tired!" Joey laughed when they landed in the clearing.

"Spare us, will ya? I already used that one when we went to Egypt to help Atem, remember?" Tristan grumbled, sitting up and rubbing the back of his head. Yugi chuckled quietly at his friends' behavior and took a moment to look around. They had landed in a small clearing in the middle of a forest area. Suddenly they heard a rustling noise in the bushes ahead of them. They all grouped together and faced outward, anticipating an attack. Téa moaned, "Oh, great. I hope it's not more of those Flower Wolves like in that Capsule Monsters game." The other three nodded their heads in agreement, but Mokuba just looked confused. Yugi noticed this and whispered, "I'll tell you about it some other time when we get home– _if_ we get home." They all watched the bush with bated breath, preparing for the worst.

Instead of the wild beasts they were expecting, however, they were surprised to see Timaeus and Hermos emerge from the dark forest. The two knights approached the stunned group and greeted them courteously. When Joey and Yugi saw them, they recognized them immediately and returned their greetings with enthusiasm. After the greetings and introductions had been exchanged, Hermos added, "It is not safe here. These woods are filled with dangerous predators. We shall stay with you and guard you tonight, and on the morrow we will escort you to the castle, our home. It is the _least_ we can do, given that you have helped us so much in the past."

The five friends welcomed the extra company and included them into their group as if they had been friends for years. Joey, Hermos and Tristan found some firewood around the campsite, and soon everyone was sitting around a cheery fire, swapping tales of their adventures. Soon it grew late, and Timaeus volunteered to take the first watch, as Duel Monsters did not require as much sleep as humans do. A few hours after midnight, Hermos woke and took the second watch to let his long-time friend rest and regain his strength.

At dawn, the travelers woke to the sound of a Niwatori crowing and quickly packed up the makeshift campsite. When they had finished, the two knights motioned for them to follow, and they led them on the safest and quickest path through the forest to the castle. After a few hours of walking, they reached their destination and approached the giant oak doors that served as the gate. The gatekeeper called down, "Who approaches the castle gate?"

Timaeus and Hermos smiled at each other and answered, "Timaeus and Hermos. We have returned from our scouting mission and brought a few old friends. Will you open the gate?"

The gate doors swung open wide, allowing the travelers to enter the courtyard. After the gate had shut behind them, the gatekeeper jumped from the tower, turned one somersault for the fun of it, then landed on his feet in front of the group. Hermos rolled his eyes and thought, _Showoff._ Critias then addressed the group directly and said, "Greetings, travelers. It is an honor to welcome you to our home. Please, follow me inside. There are many who wish to meet you."

As they started walking, Mokuba approached the tall knight and asked, "Excuse me sir, but we're looking for a friend of ours. Actually he's my big brother. He came here a few days ago, have you seen him? He's about as tall as you are, with sapphire eyes and brown hair."

Critias stopped then, and turned to look at the young boy. "Ah, Mokuba! It is good to see you again! I am afraid that your brother is not here right now, but he should return in a few hours. In the meantime, why not accompany us to the Great Hall and join us for a pleasant meal? We would be honored to have you all."

The five humans looked at each other for a moment, then nodded and followed the three legendary knights to the banquet hall, where every human-like monster was assembled. The Dark Magician Girl got up from her seat at once and floated over to the newcomers, greeting them with excited handshakes and hugs. She invited Yugi over to sit with her and the Illusion Magician, Téa sat by the Magician of Faith, Tristan and Joey sat by the Flame Swordsman and Cyber Commander, and Mokuba took a seat next to Critias. As everyone enjoyed the feast that had been laid out, Mokuba turned to Critias and said, "Where is Seto? You said that he'd be back in a few hours. What's he doing?"

Critias smiled down at the young boy and replied, "I believe that he is out enjoying himself with Blue-Eyes somewhere, but I know not where they went. Your brother did not say _where_ they were headed, only that they would return before sunset."

"Oh." was Mokuba's only reply. Seto was _enjoying_ himself? That was hard to believe. Seto almost _never_ seemed like he was enjoying something, unless he was in a challenging duel against a worthy opponent. Mokuba wondered what he could be doing, but did not ask Critias for the details. After everyone had finished, the group followed the three knights and selected their rooms in the castle, just in case they needed to spend another night in this dimension.

…

Hours later, the group rejoined in the courtyard for a few evening activities. Far above them, they heard the roar of a familiar beast. Looking up, they saw the magnificent Blue-Eyes White Dragon descending from the afternoon sky. They could see that Blue-Eyes had a rider, but they could not identify the passenger from this distance. When the dragon was only a few feet from the ground, the rider vaulted off of her back and landed a few feet behind the group. He then turned to the dragon and started to stroke her neck to calm the magnificent creature. Then he turned to face the group with a small smirk on his face. "I should have known," he sighed, "if I was somehow sent to this world, that you guys wouldn't be far behind." He shook his head. Suddenly Mokuba burst out of the center of the group and ran to his brother. Seto barely had time to look up before he was tackled to the ground by a blur of black hair. Seto chuckled quietly and returned the embrace, whispering gently, "Mokuba. I've missed you."

Mokuba laughed with relief and hugged his big brother all the tighter, exclaiming, "Seto! We finally found you! I'm so happy you're all right!" The teenager then moved to the side so that his brother could stand up, and Mokuba stood at Seto's side as he put a hand on the younger boy's shoulder. Mokuba then turned to his brother and handed him the Millennium Rod, giving a brief explanation and a short summary of the recent events as he did so. Seto looked surprised at the end, but then quickly recovered his normal expression when he noticed that the rest of the gang was looking at him. He carefully put the Millennium Rod through one of his belt loops and asked, "What?"

The gang simply shook their heads and resumed their previous conversations. Joey answered, "Nah, it's nothin' Kaiba. We were just makin' sure you were really okay. I mean, dis kinda stuff doesn't happen every day, now does it? I mean, ancient prophecies an' stuff like dat. You– don't feel any different– do ya?"

Seto shrugged and replied, "Not really. I mean I had a slight headache when I first came here, and my left leg was broken in four places, but Critias was easily able to heal that. Other than that, I feel– normal. Better than usual, actually. Why?"

Joey just shrugged and responded, "Ah, no reason. I just thought it might feel kinda weird dat yer body is in da human world an' yer spirit's in dis one. Guess not."

"Well that's interesting," Seto remarked. "So what you're trying to say is that, according to the human world– I'm dead?"

"NO! I mean your body is still in da hospital in a coma, but _you're_ here. I was just wonderin' if dat felt, ya know– different." Joey answered quickly. A little too quickly.

"Ah well. In any case, this is really bizarre." Seto changed the subject, feeling slightly awkward. "Oh! Speaking of bizarre– I brought a friend of yours with me. He wants to know if you want a ride." A pitch-black dragon emerged from his position behind Blue-Eyes, and roared happily as a greeting.

"Red-Eyes? Wow! Are– are you serious?" Seto chuckled quietly and nodded. After Red-Eyes Black Dragon came more dragons, one for each of the newcomers. Yugi met with Curse of Dragon, Téa with Seiyaryu [the pink and silver dragon in Capsule Monsters], Tristan with Thunder Dragon, and Mokuba with Critias–when he had assumed his alternate form. Each mounted their respective dragons, and as one the mighty creatures rose up into the sky and performed a complex series of twists and maneuvers later known as the 'Dragon's Dance', a ritual performed only by dragons and only in times of great celebration.

As the dragons wheeled around, the only emotion that each of the riders could find within themselves was pure, exhilarated joy. Within a few minutes, everyone was laughing and having the time of their lives. The dragons also expressed their joy by roaring happily. Red-Eyes and Blue-Eyes decided to execute a back-to-back spiral, and Seto–grinning broadly–shouted to Joey, "Having fun?" Joey shouted back, "Do ya even hafta ask?" As the dragons pulled away from each other, Joey thought to himself, _Wow. Rich Boy should smile more often. He's like a totally different person now._

Eventually the dragons completed the sacred ritual and gently landed in the castle courtyard. Each rider dismounted from their dragon and thanked them for the wonderful experience. All but one of the dragons then returned to the sky and flew off to their respective homes in the Dominion of the Beasts. Critias remained and transformed back into a knight, then offered to accompany them back to the clearing. This was where the portal would be created to return them home. Illusion Magician joined the company too, and–though he did not say a word–they could tell that he was offering to escort them home as well.

After a few minutes of quiet staring, Yugi said, "All right guys. Let's go home to where we all belong." and the group bade farewell to all of their 'new' friends. The Dark Magician Girl added, "Remember my friends, our door is always open to you. You're welcome to visit as often as you like." The group nodded and thanked her, then set off into the forest.

A few hours passed, then they reached the clearing that they had arrived in. Everyone was excited to finally go home, and they stood around discussing what they would all do first when they returned. Suddenly Seto gasped, his eyes widening in shock then narrowing in pain. He gripped his heart and fell to his knees, gasping for breath. Mokuba and the others surrounded him, trying frantically to find out what was happening to him. Critias laid a gentle hand on his shoulder and concentrated. After a few moments he turned to the rest of the group and said, "It is not an ailment of this world that Seto is experiencing. Something must be wrong in your world, where his physical body rests."

The others gasped, and Joey shouted, "We gotta get back dere, now! But how're we gonna do dat?"

Critias looked to his companion–the Illusion Magician–who nodded and combined his abilities with the knight's and created a swirling portal back to the human world. Critias then turned to the group and said, "You six must leave this place. Seto will not survive much longer if this continues. You must find a way to stop whatever is happening to his vessel in your realm."

Yugi and his friends nodded, then Joey and Tristan carefully supported Seto by his arms and half-carried him through the portal. Upon arriving in their dimension, the group came upon a horrifying scene. Saruwatari was standing over Kaiba's helpless form, and had just plunged a glinting silver dagger into the heart of the young CEO. Joey–thinking fast–slammed his fist into the emergency button, then he and the rest of the gang worked to subdue the extremely tall man. Eventually a team of security guards and surgeons came running into the room, and the police quickly put Kemo in handcuffs and led him away. Meanwhile the team of surgeons were already at work trying to remove the dagger. A surgeon's assistant quietly ushered the gang out of the room so that the doctors could work. Yugi and the others left the room without complaint and made their way to the lobby area to await the verdict. A few moments later, Hana came into the room and sat next to Mokuba, offering a cool glass of orange juice to the stricken boy.

There was one soul who had not moved from the room, however. Seto Kaiba's spirit still lingered where he had entered, watching apprehensively as the surgeons worked to save his life. The head surgeon stated after a few minutes, "Well I hate to say it guys, but it looks like nothing short of a miracle is going to save this one. –Is Dr. Itonami here today?"

One of the aides looked up and answered, "I think I saw her in the lobby just now. She was comforting a young black-haired boy. Should I make an announcement?"

The head surgeon nodded, and a few seconds later a message came over the PA system. "Doctor Itonami to the O.R., please. Dr. Itonami to the O.R."

Hana quickly jumped up from her seat and rushed to the office, quickly donning her surgeon's outfit and specialized gloves. She ran to the Operating Room, where the team of technicians and surgeons were waiting for her. Knowing how the doctor preferred to work, the team quietly left the room. Normally this sort of behavior was prohibited, but Dr. Itonami had earned the reputation of being the greatest surgeon in history. Her unofficial title was 'Dr. Hana Healing Hands', and she had saved more patients in her impossibly-short career than any surgeon at Domino General Hospital. She quickly found some sutures and gently stitched the wound back together, then removed her gloves and laid a gentle hand on the area, willing her power to heal the wound. A few seconds later, nothing remained of the knife wound but an angry red scar, and soon that disappeared as well. Hana took a small step back and rested for a moment, then turned to Seto's spirit and whispered, "It's all right. You can come back now. Just lay down in your body, and you'll return to this world."

Seto looked up and replied, "Y-you can see me? Who– who _are_ you?"

"A friend." Hana answered simply. Then she left the room. Seto took one look at the open door where the mysterious young woman had disappeared, then shook his head and walked over to his body and did as he was instructed. Seconds later the heart monitor started beeping again, indicating a perfectly normal heartbeat in the previously silent body. Seto Kaiba took slow, deep breaths and opened his eyes for the first time in two and a half months. The doctors and surgeons rushed back into the room, and after a few moments pronounced Seto Kaiba to be completely healed. The aides helped the boy to his feet, and then helped him into his trademark KC trenchcoat. Seto nodded his thanks to the doctors, then slowly walked out of the Operating Room and made his way to the lobby, where his brother and friends were waiting anxiously.

Mokuba sat in the comfortable lobby chair, trembling with anxiety. Joey put a comforting arm around the boy's shoulders and said, "Don' worry 'bout it, Mokuba. I'm sure dat your brother's gonna be fine. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me one bit if he came 'round dat corner right now, completely okay."

"Nice timing Wheeler," Seto smirked as he walked over to the group of friends. The gang breathed a collective gasp of surprise and stared at Seto as if he were a ghost. Seto merely raised an eyebrow at their expressions, then gave a light chuckle when he saw the priceless look on Yugi's face.

Hana stood a short distance away from the group with her arms crossed and a smile on her face. Her coworkers had surrounded her–as well as a gaggle of reporters for the local paper–insisting on an interview for the miracle of the year. They were saying that this development would make her famous, and her skills would become world-renowned. Hana slowly shook her head, looked over to the group of friends that she had come to love and thought, _It looks like I'm not needed here anymore. Farewell my friends, it's been an adventure._ Out loud she said, "No thanks, guys. If it's all the same to you, I prefer to remain anonymous." Then she broke out of the circle of reporters and cameramen and left through the front doors. She turned to the west, then breathed a deep sigh and journeyed out into the setting sun.

Back at the hospital lobby, Seto Kaiba put a hand on his brother's shoulder and said, "Come on, kiddo. Let's go home."

* * *

><p><span>End of chapter 7<span>

Next chapter teaser: Omake, or 'A Brother's Bond'

If you're wondering why Seto confused Critias with his father (his _real_ father), I kinda borrowed that idea from 'The Little Mermaid', where the sun is behind Ariel and it looks like she had dark hair instead of red. Well Seto thought that Critias had black hair–the same color as his dad's–hence the confusion.

Seto might seem a little out-of-character in this chapter, but that's how I think he acts when nobody else is around. If there would be a bunch of people around, he would just act like the grumpy CEO we all know and love–or love to hate, whichever you prefer.

Aw, we're almost done with this story. Just one more chapter left! I'll miss you! *sniff*

Well that's the last we see of Hana, but not of the other characters. Until next time, that is!

See you next chapter!

Tsunami Storm


	8. Omake: A Brother's Bond

Last chapter of this story. *sniff* But there's another one in progress. Hooray! Read, Enjoy, and Review!

* * *

><p>It had been a month since Seto Kaiba had returned from the hospital. He still felt a little sore around his heart area, but that was to be expected, since the still-healing scar had once been a bullet hole.<p>

Seto slowly sighed and stepped out of the shower, wrapping a white towel with blue trim around his waist and turning to the sink to brush his teeth. Slowly the door creaked open, and Seto vaguely thought, _Hmm. Guess I need to oil those hinges._ What followed after that sound however drove all thought from his mind. It was a short gasp of horror. Judging by the sound of the voice, Seto guessed that his little brother Mokuba was behind him. Without turning around, Seto sighed and commented to himself, "Well _that_ was bad timing. Oh well. He'd have found out sooner or later. Though, I would have liked it to have been later."

Seto slowly turned around, an embarrassed smirk on his face. He looked down at his little brother with love in his eyes, and said, "Well now you know. This is the secret that you asked me about, that day at the park. I couldn't answer you then, because I didn't know how. This isn't something one can easily explain to _anyone_, much less their own family."

Mokuba just continued to stare at his brother, the sight of his back burned into his mind. Seto's back, chest, arms and legs were crisscrossed with innumerable scars, as if he had been whipped mercilessly on several occasions. The scars had long-since healed, but Mokuba could still tell that the wounds had been deep when they were first inflicted.

"This is why you wouldn't see me for months at a time, Mokuba." Seto continued. "It was the punishment for 'neglecting my work'. Every time that I would try to spend time with you, _he_ caught me and would beat me nearly to death. I was strong though, even back then. I endured the punishments to protect you from the same, horrible fate. I wouldn't let anything happen to you, Mokuba. Not then, not now, not _ever_."

Mokuba finally recovered from his state of shock and asked meekly, "Who? Who could have done this to you, Seto? What kind of person could do something like this to a twelve-year-old boy?"

But then the answer hit him like a flash of lightning. The demon who had starred in many of his nightmares when he was small.

"Gozaburo." both brothers stated at the same time, though one said it with a resigned sigh, and the other said it with horrified revulsion. Yes, the devil incarnate, Gozaburo Kaiba. The man who had made Seto's childhood a living Hell, stripping away all that was good and beautiful in the young boy's life and replacing it with ice, hatred and pain. Freezing his gentle, warm heart into cold stone. With the evil businessman's death, the love that Mokuba had for his brother had gradually warmed his heart of ice, and now finally, after six long years, Seto Kaiba's once-gentle spirit had returned.

During the time that he was in a coma, Seto had had a long time to think about where his life was going. He had realized that–if he continued to live by his current outlook and attitude on life–he would be friendless and alone until the day he died. Slowly over the course of the past few months, he had completely changed his attitude and treatment of others. Now he didn't know if he would even recognize the cold-hearted businessman that almost never smiled.

Mokuba walked over to his brother, tears in his large, gray-blue eyes. Seto knelt down in front of him and opened his arms to embrace his big-hearted little brother. Mokuba slowly smiled softly, then let himself be gathered into Seto's unexpected hug. Seto also smiled and closed his eyes as he held his brother close, and a single tear traveled from his eye to his chin, then dropped to the tiled bathroom floor beneath them. He eventually opened his mouth and whispered, "Don't cry for the past now, little brother. It's over. Like I used to say, 'The past is history!' There's nothing we can do to change it. The only thing we can do is look to the future and try to make it a better place by changing and influencing things _now_. I love you Mokuba, and that will never change. When my time comes and I leave this life, know that you'll never be alone. I'll always be right here" he softly put his hand over Mokuba's cardiac organ, "in your heart. And you will always be in mine, Mokuba. Always."

Mokuba gasped with tearful joy, and embraced his Nii-sama all the tighter. Unseen by the two brothers outside of the room, the three newest editions to the Kaiba family, Seth, Kisara and Noah watched the whole episode with small smiles and tears in their eyes. Seth uttered quietly–so as not to betray their presence, "Aww. The bond between brothers is like no other. Do you not agree, Noah?"

Noah looked up at his newest, 'oldest' brother and answered in a whisper, "Yeah, especially these two. I'm glad that they and you are my family now. I never want to go back to that Virtual World again! My place is here, with my family."

Seth smiled wider and nodded, then he, Noah and Kisara left the two brothers to give them some space for their time together.

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><p><span>The End<span>

Aww! Brother fluff!

Anyway, this is my opinion on why Seto doesn't wear short sleeves or shorts. You're free to come to your own conclusions.

Once again, thank you all for leaving me reviews and adding my first story to your Favorites list. You made a new author/authoress feel welcome.

This is all I have for my Yu-Gi-Oh! stories. For now, at least!

All the best!

Tsunami Storm


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